The Lonely Waves
by jlandz09
Summary: We all know that Pakoda was banished from the North Pole, and we all know that he ends up in the White Lotus Society, but what really happens at Pai Sho Days in Omashu? OC backstor involving a waterfall and a Pai Sho tournament. "The Lower Ranks" prequel.
1. The Journey: Chapter 1

Foreword (AKA: really big A/N)

sigh I knew I would get around to it eventually. I'm really excited as I set my next adventure into motion. After much deliberation, I decided on a name for our star besides the name most of you who read this will know him by. As a special note to people who haven't read The Lower Ranks, you should read it first before reading this one because of how this one will be written. The first one is standalone and could be read and never thought about again. However, I'm writing this one with many allusions and subtle references back to The Lower Ranks, and I believe it would be a much more enjoyable experience if you read TLR first. I wrote this prequel for two main reasons. One, I enjoyed writing the first one so much that I wanted to do it again. And secondly, because I enjoyed one of my own creations so much that I wanted to explore his story a lot more as well. So anyway, enough babbling with me, and on with the prequel to The Lower Ranks.

_"In those moments, Iceberg thought about the future. He thought about the thousands of people he was about to liberate. He thought about all the peace that would come to the world after the Avatar escaped and continued on his way to destroy the Fire Lord…As he caught up with Long Feng, he launched himself toward him and sent them both tumbling over the edge." The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 1

"Bad timing again," he thought to himself.

Pakoda couldn't think of anything he had ever done that had not been timed poorly for him. His mother went into labor at the fish market. His father left his mother the night before his first day of water-bending training. His mother was imprisoned the day before his first trip Ice-Dodging. The spies found him injured on an ice cap in the middle of the ocean rather than at his house where he could think clearly. And now, his sentencing was the day before his mother's release.

The latter wouldn't have been as bad had he not actually committed the crime he was charged of.

"I have come to a decision," said the chief. Pakoda had forgotten his name already, which wasn't really surprising since there seemed to be a new chief every time he came to a hearing.

"The defendant will be exiled. As of twilight tonight, he is no longer welcome within the walls of this tribe."

Everyone cheered.

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Pakoda left the room with an even bigger iceberg on his back than he had upon arriving. He pitied himself mercilessly. It wasn't enough that the crowd already had turned on him and rejoiced at his exile, but acting like a fool and pleading for one more measly night before departure had seemed to add a brand new glare of hatred from not only the chief, but the eyes of the audience as he stood and departed the room.

It seemed right that he was leaving. The North Pole had never seemed to welcome him as much as everything the North Pole had no association with. He knew that if he could get to an Earth Kingdom settlement and find good work, he would be fine. But the problems in his life right now were all to be found in the time between his trial and his finding his real place in the world.

He was off to find his canoe. Most canoe markets had closed up, knowing the possibility of who one of their customers could be, but a very few had stayed open knowing that there was the possibility of a definite sell.

He found a tiny hut and knew he had come to the right place. He walked in and found a single canoe leaning against one of the walls.

"How much?" Pakoda asked.

"What?" the man asked groggily. Pakoda hadn't realized that man was asleep.

"I apologize, how much for the canoe?"

"You mean you don't even want to look at it or anything?"

"I figure 'Why does it matter?'"

"Oh, it matters. A man's canoe is his home away from home. Sure they look small and dinky and ill fitted for living, but when you're out there on the water with nothing but the clothes on your back and the food in your pack, you'll want to make sure you've got everything how it should be."

"Wow. Now I know I want this canoe."

"Do I need to repeat myself boy? You need to look at it first."

"No, I don't need to look at it. The love you have for your craft shines through in how you speak of it. I know that buying a canoe from a man who loves canoes as much as you do can only be an investment on my part. Especially with that talk about living in a canoe."

"I like you. What may I call you?"

"Pakoda."

"Call me Cheapy."

"Cheapy?"

"Yep. That's what they call me."

"Why would anybody call you that?"

"I told you, look at the canoe."

Pakoda walked up and inspected the small boat. He carefully brought it to the ground and looked inside it. There was nothing special about how it looked. Actually, it was quite the opposite. The wood looked very junky and there was a horrific odor. But when he turned it over, he was shocked to see that the bottom of it was as smooth as ice itself.

"Now I know I want this canoe."

"Is that so? Am I the first shop you came to?"

"You're the only one open."

"And why is that?"

Pakoda was shocked. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" Cheapy asked.

"About the man that was exiled today."

"Yes, what about it?"

"Well, most shopkeepers don't like to keep their stores open when they know what kind of customers are going to be on the market."

"That's not very polite."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, it's just like I said. A canoe is a man's home away from home, or in the case of this exile, his home. When a man is out there with nothing but his food and clothes, he's gonna want nothing less than a reliable canoe to get him wherever he is going."

The man's voice then lowered to a whisper Pakoda had to lean in to hear, "And it's my duty to make sure young men like you don't try paddling to the Earth Kingdom in one of them cheap junkers out there."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Because the maniacs that shop for canoes on the day a man's been exiled are the same kinds of maniacs that sell canoes on the same day."

Pakoda then explained his situation in full to Cheapy, who then invited Pakoda to dinner before his departure. Unfortunately, Pakoda had one more stop to make before setting off for the Earth Kingdom and had to cut the pair's time together short. So, instead of dinner, Cheapy offered the canoe to Pakoda at a frighteningly low price, and threw in a week's worth of extra supplies to keep him going after he had run through what little pieces of skimp the tribe officials would give him.

In those moments as the two parted, Pakoda began to think of the future. He thought about the hundreds of people in his tribe he would never see again. He thought about the stressful times ahead after he had left everything he knew and continued on his way to the Earth Kingdom. As he caught the last open canal before twilight, he set himself and his supplies in his canoe and sent himself and everything he ever knew about life over the edge.


	2. The Journey: Chapter 2

A/N: This one is pretty short mostly because I got cut short on time tonight. I will be supplying an Iceberg picture once we get to that part of the story, but here is what Pakoda looks like in case anybody is interested...http://i112. I really like this quoting my previous story thing, so I'm gonna keep that going until I run out of significant ones and this story becomes self-supporting.

_"You see, when you are banished, normally you are given ample food and a reliable source of transportation to get wherever you are going. Unfortunately for me, I was not so wealthy and well respected, so all they gave me was a pound of seal blubber, and a one-man canoe with a paddle. As you can imagine, this did not last me very long, and halfway to the nearest Earth Kingdom post, I had run out of food."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 2

It was almost as if Pakoda and the sea had been arguing for the entire journey so far. He wasn't necessarily nervous about the journey ahead of him. He already knew that it wasn't going to be easy. His nervousness was caused by his mother. He knew there would be no way to ever see her again, and he had already dealt with that in his mind too.

His nervousness, he realized, was really FOR his mother. Had he been able to stay a while longer, maybe he could have helped her out and kept her out of trouble for a little bit longer than she would be able to on her own. He so wished that he could at least give her a tiny morsel of his pound of seal blubber to get her through one day. One more day on the streets begging was better than any amount of days in the clutches of the tribe.

However, to keep his nervousness from rising to panic, Pakoda would often look to the sea for comfort. It was so calm and so willing to take him wherever his paddle would guide the tiny canoe. The sea didn't care who he was; it would take him to his destination just the same.

The farther South Pakoda traveled, the more he began to spot the tiniest patches of sand that jutted up no more than an inch above the sea. This told him that he was about halfway from his destination. This troubled Pakoda as he had already eaten most of his food for the journey and the roughest patch of traveling lay just beyond the patches of sand that were now becoming more sizable and more frequent.

Pakoda knew how to navigate through such routes, so he had no trouble physically dominating the water as he paddled his canoe, but the mental memories of the area were keeping him from paying full attention to what he was doing and tired him until he decided it was time to rest.

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After finally finding a suitable sandbar for the canoe, he took out the last pouch of blubber. The pouch was ample for three meals, but Pakoda had at least 3 days of paddling left before any sort of village would appear. He took enough for one bite out of the pouch, and drifted off to sleep.

Upon awaking, Pakoda quickly grabbed the pouch of blubber, and climbed aboard ready to set out for a day of vigorous paddling. He had thought about it the night before and after more careful estimation, he realized that it was possible that he was even farther from the outpost than what he had originally thought. Not one for taking chances, Pakoda paddled a great distance that day before stopping before his greatest obstacle, the River Canyon.

Pakoda had only heard of one other ship being able to navigate the small channel that ran through the several hundred arm-lengths high wall of rock and ice and let himself rest before beginning his most perilous journeying yet.

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Pakoda woke up and immediately reached for his last pouch, but grasped only at thin air. He turned over in the snow and looked to where the pouch had been. Not only was it not there but also there was a row of side-by-side footprints that started about an arm-length away, appeared to hop toward the pouch, go past where the pouch had lay, and then disappear all together.

Pakoda sighed before rolling back over for another few minutes of sleep before setting out on his final leg.

"Stupid bird."


	3. The Journey: Chapter 3

A/N:Meh, I don't know about this one. I wasn't looking forward to writing this chapter because I didn't know how to occupy all of the time I needed too. But now seeing as this is my longest chapter yet in this story, I'm afraid that I might have used filler or something. I don't know. Read, Review, and Enjoy! (RR&E)_  
_

_"Don't you dare ever think of anything you do, even things on a day-to-day basis, as regular."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 3

"Now to face this monster," Pakoda thought out loud. He had spent the last five minutes staring at his foe.

He thought about the night he left. Cheapy had shown him some maps to give Pakoda a good sense of where he needed to go. The closest village was at the exit of this canyon, which would take him about a day to get through. But Cheapy had warned Pakoda about this route. He said that it was fraught with peril and he had never heard back from anybody who had dared try to go through it.

Pakoda's only other option would have been to go along the outside of the canyon and paddle along the coast and try to find a small village for a night's rest if nothing else. But no villages had been charted on the map that were any closer than three days away. His chances on discovering a new village was slim, but his chances on lasting that long without food were slimmer.

With nothing but the clothes on his back, Pakoda jumped into the canoe, and glided into the belly of the River Canyon.

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Cheapy had not told him anything about the canyon other than how dangerous it was, so Pakoda had no idea when to expect any danger to occur. This was not good because he spent most of his time trying to find an equilibrium between worrying and being too prudent, and getting to the end of the canyon before twilight.

Once satisfied that he had a good feel for his surroundings, he let his guard become stagnant and did not put forth any more effort into elevating it.

As he paddled down the river, he saw less and less light until finally, the river was too dark to see and he was relying on looking up to the sky to follow the walls of the canyon as they turned.

His method was working for a while and he traveled along all morning until a few minutes before the sun would be high enough to cast light down into the canyon, which was when Pakoda intended to make his most progress. However, he was shaken by some splashes that he heard behind him.

Instinctively he turned to look behind him, and then kind of chuckled at himself for trying to see anything down in the river. He shrugged it off and kept going.

Despite the lack of sunlight in the canyon, and how far north the canyon was, Pakoda was very surprised to feel strangely warm. Anticipating the heat of the sun coming into the canyon, Pakoda removed his coat and carelessly tossed it into the front of the canoe.

Several minutes later, the light shining into the canyon became too great for Pakoda and he had to stop and wait for the sun to fully come over the canyon before he could continue his journey.

Feeling around with his paddle, he let himself float forward giving the occasional swing of the paddle to give him a little more momentum. He had been paddling for four hours straight, only resting for a total of ten minutes, and it was refreshing to be forced to wait. He felt he had made pretty good progress and was convinced that what Cheapy had heard was just silly rumors about dangers in the canyon.

Suddenly, the boat tipped side-to-side and rocked back and forth for a couple seconds, until slowing to a stop. Again, foolishly looking over the side, Pakoda gave himself a good punch in the arm for being silly and looking over the edge of the boat expecting to see anything.

The boat tipped again. Pakoda was able to resist the urge to look over the side of the boat, but he couldn't help but wondering why the boat was rocking the way it was. He figured that he must be hitting some upward jutting rocks.

"Maybe that's why the canyon is so dangerous. These rocks probably poke holes in people's boats and they sink, leaving them trapped in the canyon. Good thing I got the canoe that I did."

The rocking continued for another five minutes. Every once in a while Pakoda would catch himself looking over the side of the canoe again, but he would forgive himself because he knew that the sun was getting close to coming out.

Finally, the sun peeked over the crest of the eastern wall of the canyon, and shone down into the deep and abruptly steep valley where Pakoda was positioned.

Overjoyed that he could now see to proceed down the river, Pakoda grabbed his paddle and began making his way at great speed in the direction that the canyon took him.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Why can't I just waterbend myself through the canyon?" He kicked himself for not thinking of it before.

"Of course. It's so simple; I don't know why I've been using this silly thing." He sat the paddle down and began pushing the water outside the boat backwards, and himself in the opposite direction.

He began to start making great progress through the canyon. He covered more canyon during the first few minutes of light the sun had provided than most of his day so far.

He laughed silently to himself as a funny thought occurred to him

"If only Pakku could see this," he thought, "He would have thought twice about rejecting me from his course if he could see me doing this."

But then a reality check reminded him that Pakku was one of the main reasons he was in the predicament in the first place and he quickly set aside all thoughts of impressing one of the men he was glad he would never see again.

As the sun began to enter the last half of its journey over the canyon, Pakoda stared ahead at something he thought to be strange at first. He looked up and saw the line of light above him that marked the walls of the canyon. He then scanned ahead of them on down as far as he could see, but somehow, the line never seemed to stop until it hit water.

Pakoda pondered this as he kept bending himself forward. Then it struck him, "That's the exit!" he rejoiced inside his head. "It has to be. I'm almost there."

Pakoda chuckled again at himself for believing an old man like Cheapy. He couldn't believe how much faith he put into the old man's silly little tales. "That guy's so old, he probably doesn't even remember me. HA! He's probably looking for his canoe right now."

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Pakoda was overwhelmed with the success of his journey. He couldn't believe how easily he had made it to a village. He thought it hilarious that he had even been worried about food. It had only been one day without food, and he had already been making preparations on how to get as close to the village as possible before he started to lack the energy to move him along. The sun wasn't even gone yet and he was within clear sight of the village.

He saw a sign, which he thought to be quite odd. "Why would they have a sign here?" he wondered, "I seriously doubt many people come this route often."

Nevertheless, he read the sign anyway. He wished he hadn't because it made the last few moments of his journey quite confusing. There were some clear characters that he could make out, a large smudge, and then more readable characters. Once he got close enough, he read the sign very carefully, trying to see if he could make anything out. But the best he could read was, "ABANDON XXXX XXX KNOW".

He was quite puzzled at what the sign meant. "Abandon blank blank know," he thought, "Why would anybody want to abandon knowledge?"

Suddenly, Pakoda began to hear a sort of roaring sound. He could hear it getting louder, but he still couldn't quite pinpoint the source. He looked up, down, and to both sides, but he could find nothing. Finally, he shrugged it off and figured he could ask one of the villagers about it once he got there.

Pakoda kept his eyes on the river. He suddenly noticed that he was speeding up without any bending. "Where is that current from?" he wondered out loud.

He kept going and kept going and kept speeding up and kept speeding up until finally, he had his first clear view of the village, and earth itself.

He had heard stories about the marvelous Earth Kingdom. He had been told about its magnificent landscapes that seem to go on past the limits of human sight, and it was at that point in his life that he believed them.

He had never seen grass, or trees, or stone, or buildings like the ones in this village before. It was all so new and exhilarating at the same time. But it was still creeping up on him all too quickly.

He had plenty enough light to see the river and the canyon walls now, and he looked over the side of the canoe to see why he was still speeding up.

"Where in the world is that current coming from?" he kept wondering.

Suddenly, he felt weightless. It was like his canoe had been sitting on top of his igloo back home, and somebody had melted his roof making the canoe come smashing down into the living room. He looked up and saw the canyon walls getting taller and taller. Finally coming to the realization of his predicament, he forced himself to look down.

The pool of water was getting closer and closer.


	4. The Beginning: Chapter 4

A/N: Ithink I had a more clear view of how the rest of this story would play out before I wrote this chapter than after I wrote it. I mean, I'm talking about totally changing plots or anything like that. I kind of sealed that deal back during The Lower Ranks. But this chapter was very interesting to write. It might be that I was subconsciously inspired before I wrote it. In case you would like to try it, go find a good version of "J'entends Le Moulin" arranged by Donald Patriquin. Great great stuff...absolutely nothing to do with Avatar.

However, this story does have something that remotely relates to Aang, in a roundabout way, so maybe you[I should concentrate less on French pieces, and more on reading adventurous fanfictions. (OK, this chapter is really not all that adventurous, but oh well.) Read, Review, and Enjoy (RR&E)

_"Her first sensation when waking up was a cool feeling on her arm. She recognized the feeling immediately and looked over to see the shopkeeper standing over her with a water basin to his side."_

_"When I arrived in town, I was at the end of my rope, and I barely made it through the town gate before I collapsed in the street."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 4

Pakoda rose with a start. Then realized that this was a mistake and immediately let himself rest again on his back. He then realized his back was not in great shape either and rolled to his side, grunting loudly from the aches that accompanied any movements he made.

"Ahh, you're up. You're one of the worst ones I've seen yet. Normally all I have to deal with is a broken arm, but you seem to have a lot more trouble adjusting after the fall."

"The fall," Pakoda thought, "What fall? When did I fall?" Realization struck. "Ahh, that's what that was."

Forcing himself to endure the pain, he mustered the strength to ask the man a few questions, before blacking out again.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the Hun Chi outpost."

"Who are you?"

"You may call me H."

"Why is it so cold?"

"You mean you need more reason than the northern climate and raging waterfall?"

"No, I mean, your hands…" It had taken Pakoda this whole conversation to realize that the man had been rubbing his back.

"Ahh, that my friend, is called water; useful for many things. You'd be surprised what one could do with water."

Pakoda had another stroke of realization.

"You're a water-bender?!"

"Nope, actually…the water is healing you itself. I actually poured it on my head once, and my hair grew back for a while."

Pakoda would've chuckled at the man's sarcastic humor so true to that of a water-bender, but he blacked out.

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The next time Pakoda awoke, he was sitting up.

"Wha-?"

H shushed him.

"Just relax, and wait."

Then, the room became warm, but the heat wasn't being directly applied to him this time. It seemed to be a more atmospherical heat. It wrapped him up closely enough for him to forget about his aches for the time being.

"How did you do that with water?"

"It's called heat my friend. Surprisingly enough, bending is not the solution for everything."

Pakoda had time to chuckle this time.

"Boy, don't I know it. You play Pai-Cho?" asked Pakoda.

"Why yes. It happens to be one of my favorite things in the world. I think it's important for everyone if not learn how it's played, then learn what it means."

"What it means? What could it mean past what it is?"

"When you are well enough, I will show you. In the meantime, you need to relax. You've had a lot more troubles than just the waterfall."

"You got that ri…"

H shushed him again.

Pakoda decided it better to remain still and enjoy the steam.

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When next Pakoda awoke, it was in front of a table with much food on it.

"How much is for me?" he asked.

"However much you think you can eat."

"Are you really serious?"

"Did that waterfall really break your legs, your left ankle, and three fingers?"

Rather than trying to count it out, Pakoda commenced eating at a rather slow, but most enjoyable pace. It wasn't any kind of meal he had ever seen. He would often stop before a bite and ask, "What is this?" H would never give a straight answer, but would instead just compare it to something simple, like a cod, or an egg. With the tone of voice H was using, Pakoda was rather glad that he didn't elaborate and just kept eating.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Oh, don't worry. You're about five bites away from all you can handle. That'll leave me with right around two-thirds of what I cooked, which is more than I can eat."

Pakoda gave H a grin, and then collapsed.

"Wow," said H, "I usually guess better than that."

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The outline of the familiar circle welcomed Pakoda back to consciousness once more.

"Finally, something I can understand."

"Well, I doubt you truly understand the game, but yes, I'm sure you have already been acquainted."

"We'll see who's acquainted in just a little bit," challenged Pakoda.

"Is that so?" smirked H.

"Yes, I'm quite sure it is. May I operated whilst assuming you plan on extending the courtesy of the first move to your guest?"

"Nothing would delight me more."

As the two's play continued in their first of many Pai-Cho games the two would share, their match of wits blossomed right along with it. The two exchanged witty comments back and forth. They would question moves or even brag on their own, but it was all done with strict and formal manners and respect of the other player's abilities.

What surprised Pakoda the most was H's tendency to overplay his White Lotus. He called him on it several times, saying things like, "That's a very odd position for that piece, wouldn't you say?" or, "Do you know the ratio of lotus tiles lost to stone tiles lost?" But H would just sit solemnly as ever and would repeat the same phrase every time he was badgered about his strange strategy. "It never fails that the young frog will question the old frog's lily pad, and it will surely come to pass that the young frog will fall in the lake when he begins to show off hopping about on his larger pad, whilst the old frog remains steady and true upon his own."

As their play continued, Pakoda began to look more and more worried about his every move. He could tell that H was experienced, because of some of the phrases he would use when describing a move, or congratulating himself on the capturing of yet another one of Pakoda's stone tiles.

As Pakoda's worry increased, so did his number of missing tiles from the board. There was only one more move to be made before he would be forced to conceit. He studied his board, searching for hidden moves, and hidden rules in the back of his mind until, finally, his mind gave out from all the worry, and he collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Well it's about time. I was almost convinced I might have to actually beat this one."


	5. The Beginning: Chapter 5

A/N: I absolutely love it when I'm in the middle of a chapter, and it starts writing itself. I would rather not spoil the moment too much, so I'll just leave it at that. Read, Review, and Enjoy.

_"When I woke up, I was in a situation very similar to the one you were in when you woke up on my healing table. I was confused, and I didn't know where I was. I also struck up a friendship with my healer immediately just as you did with me, and we began playing some Pai Sho."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 5

The intervals of consciousness became greater and more frequent as Pakoda's stay in the village endured, as did his Pai Cho matches with H.

However, as the games became more regular, their play became less formal. Several times Pakoda was able to sneak in some moves on H just because of the fact that they were so casual in the way they played together. One day, however, it was Pakoda who was caught off guard.

"So what came over you to make you decide to leave the North Pole and travel over a waterfall?"

Shocked at the seemingly randomness of the question, Pakoda could only answer, "Huh?"

"Why did you leave the North Pole? I've heard nothing but good things about life up there. I'd love to visit it sometime."

Pakoda sighed, "It's not what you would think."

"Oh? I sense you had some trouble during your stay there?"

Pakoda only chuckled, "Trouble, I could have dealt with. Trouble would have simply landed me in jail. Trouble would have still put some food on the table."

"Go on."

"Well, if you must know, I'll enlighten you with the details."

Pakoda then went on to tell H of his less than satisfactory life. He told him how his family couldn't afford a water-bending teacher if they wanted to eat, and so Pakoda had to teach himself.

"I would say I'm halfway decent. Water-bending was actually what got me through the canyon. I probably wouldn't have made it through before nighttime if I hadn't bended myself through."

"Interesting," said H, "tell me more."

"Well, one day, I was out practicing, and then this black snow comes from the sky."

"You mean soot."

"Yes. I was only 17 at the time, and since I hadn't gone to school either, I had no idea what was happening. Apparently there was a lone Fire Navy ship that had been watching me practice. They knew that I was an outcast and they could sense my vulnerability. I probably could have stood my ground and paddled away if they hadn't offered me the food.

"They only wanted information at first. They asked me simple questions about things like the chief's name, where he lived, and what kind of family he had. But the questions became increasingly personal as they continued. They asked me what my name was and they wanted to know where I lived. Then they finally started asking about entrance points to the North Pole, and that's where I told them I wouldn't go any further.

"Surprisingly they respected me for that, and allowed me to go. I quickly left the ship, boarded my canoe, paddled home, and went to sleep in my bed.

"That night, there was a raid. They caught us off guard and began trying to ram the trade canal. Enough benders were keeping watch that night that there were no casualties, but they had found a weakness nonetheless. They knew that unless repairs were done, the canal could allow the Fire Nation to slip in and take us from the side.

"Unfortunately for me, someone had seen me get off of the ship that afternoon. Long story short, they arrested me, locked me up, made me come out and help with the canal, locked me back up, then they questioned me. They were actually more ruthless with their interrogation than the Fire Nation was. I told them everything I could remember telling them, but they wouldn't believe me when I told them that I said nothing about the trade canal. The chief saw it the people's way, and had me banished.

"And that's how I ended up here."

H just looked down at the floor. Then he spoke very softly.

"No wonder."

"No wonder what?" Pakoda asked.

"It's no wonder you had such a rough time with the waterfall."

"What makes you say that?

"There is good reason behind the waterfall. It is not just a simple waterfall, it is a shrine, or even a temple, to the spirit that guards this village.

"The first waterfall was made by the spirit Pù back around the same time the Great Divide was made by the Earth spirits. Pù liked the waterfall so much, that he decided to make more until he had created too many to count. But when the Fire Nation began to invade, Pù began to worry for his creation, so he summoned the Earth spirits to once again create a canyon, but this time, at the end of the canyon, Pù made the biggest waterfall in the world.

"Legend says that Pù guards the canyon and the waterfall to this day, and if you are a friend to Pù and the people that live under the protection of his great creation, then he will spare your life when you travel down the falls. But if your intentions are only to destroy, Pù summons the Earth spirits once again, and your journey toward the bottom of the waterfall will end with a rocky grave."

Pakoda was still somewhat confused.

"How does this pertain to me?" he asked.

"If what you say is true, then you have had a very complicated past. Your dealings with the Fire Nation displeased Pù, but since you seem to have changed from those ways, he decided to spare you."

Pakoda still had one question.

"What does the sign really say? I could read 'ABANDON' and 'KNOW', but I couldn't read the two words in-between."

H began to grin. "Before you leave this village, you will know what it means. However, to know what it means, you must know what it says. If you wish to know what it says, you must first beat me in a game of Pai Cho."

Pakoda returned the mischievous grin.

"Easy enough."


	6. The Beginning: Chapter 6

A/N: This was written in spite of yet another Friday night with no Avatar on in Canada or the US. However, this being the fourth week in a row that it has happened, I can't say I'm surprised. Fear not though, the same amount of effort was put into this chapter as was the rest. This is one of my first attempts at the somewhat deep philosophical stuff, so I can kind of relate to Pakoda near the end of the story. I feel I'm on the verge of some action, so I'll try not to disappoint. Not sure how I'm going to segue the end of this chapter with what I plan on getting done in the next three chapters. But I still surprise myself every time at how it just starts to flow out once I get the first part of the chapter established. Thank you by the way to anyone who reads this. Even though I'm not getting any reviews (which I would greatly appreciate) I am still thankful that I am getting hits on the story anyway. Although I appreciate you no less, I would be really thankful if I could get some feedback from my regular readers (if you're out there).

Oh well, enough of my rambling...Read, Review, and Enjoy (RR&E)

_"Another thing you should watch out for as far as the White Lotus is concerned is any house or shop marked with its symbol. These are safe havens for anybody that is a member of the brotherhood that may need safety or medical assistance for any reason."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 6

Pakoda slammed his fist down on the game table.

"How do you do it!?" Pakoda yelled at his caretaker, "How does that little tiny piece get anything done? I don't understand it!"

H sighed. "Come with me," he said.

H then led Pakoda outside to the waterfall's edge. Pakoda was somewhat numb to the waterfall's awesome power by his fourth week of staying at H's village, but only when he didn't really look at it. Even H stopped and stared at the wonder of the magnificent waterfall for a few moments before continuing.

"How old are you now?" H asked Pakoda.

"22."

"I want you to know that I'm doing something that is never done for anyone else your age. I am going to offer you something, and should you choose to accept my offer, you will not regret it. Should you refuse my offer, you will regret not knowing what would have happened, but you will never know. But I can tell you this for sure; if you refuse what I'm about to offer you, you will never beat me in a game of Pai Cho."

"Continue," Pakoda replied.

"Turn and face my hut. What do you see?"

"I see the village."

"Narrow your thoughts. Now what do you see?"

"Your hut."

"Narrower."

"The door to your hut."

H sighed remembering his first try to understand.

"What else is on the hut?"

"A window?"

"Don't question your own guess."

"A window."

"Narrower."

"Your sign."

"Good. Now what is on my sign?"

"A symbol?"

"You're questioning yourself again."

Now Pakoda let out a sigh, this one of impatience.

"A symbol."

"Specific?"

Pakoda had to strain to see exactly what was on the sign. Finally, he saw what he needed to see, and answered, "A white lotus."

"Good. Now, turn and face the waterfall again."

Pakoda obeyed.

"Do you know how I beat you with the lotus tile?"

"No."

"Do you wish to learn?"

Pakoda paused. "Is this the offer he was talking about?" he asked himself.

"Yes, I would," he answered.

"Good."

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Pakoda was starving as he tried to keep his attention focused on what H was saying.

"And you see here, after you moved your stone tile, I slid my lotus right underneath there, where your stone tile had been. And then…"

Pakoda couldn't deny that what H was telling him was great information. H was easily the best Pai Cho player he had ever faced, and could not believe the tricks and sneaky moves that he was showing him, but he had to force himself to keep focused on his words. H was showing him many things in a very short amount of time, and Pakoda hadn't had lunch yet. Like clockwork though, H brought the subject up right as he thought it.

"How about we break for lunch? When we come back, we will play again."

"Fine."

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"Your move Pakoda."

Pakoda was rather beside himself. He was easily beating H this time. Every move H made, Pakoda saw and immediately countered using the knowledge H had laid upon him. In no time, Pakoda had H cornered. He had never realized how good he really was.

"Wait a minute…" Pakoda thought out loud. He scanned the entire board, but his eyes were drawn to his lotus tile. He evaluated the newly learned information, processed it, and finally moved his lotus tile three spaces forward.

H clapped a few times out of respect.

"You are now ready to read the sign."

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"Wait a minute, I thought we were going to read the sign."

"We are."

"Then why are we back here?"

"To read the sign. Widen your mind to the possibilities."

"Wait a minute, just this morning, you were telling me to narrow my mind. Why do I have to widen it back up?"

"This morning, all of the possibilities were spread out before your eyes. You had nowhere to go but inward."

Pakoda sighed. He didn't have much of a stomach for this philosophical talk. He watched as H knocked on the ceiling of his back room, where his healing table was. Suddenly, they both heard a hollow sound, and Pakoda realized what H was doing. H then reached up and pulled down on what looked to be one plank, but about 8 planks came down with it.

"Follow me," H said.

Pakoda walked behind H up the dusty platform into the ceiling, which turned out to actually be the floor of another room. One that Pakoda had no previous knowledge of. He spun around the room scanning it for anything interesting, and was stopped short by a flash. He turned back around, and realized that there was a candle burning in the corner of the room.

He walked over to the candle while H watched.

"Do you know where you're standing?" he asked as Pakoda reached the candle.

"Where?" Pakoda responded. He was looking down at the candle and could see writing on the wooden planks of the floor. He then realized that the planks with writing were actually one big plank, stuck in the middle of the flooring. More shocking however, was what was written on the floor.

"ABANDON WHAT YOU KNOW"

"You are standing right above the Pai Cho table."


	7. The Pilgrimage: Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry if this really mushy, goodbye-ing stuff is kind of a weird style in the context of how the story is normally written, but it needed to be done for purposes later in the story. (You should have a pretty good guess as to what these purposes are assuming you paid attention during The Lower Ranks during the few parts when Iceberg mentions his mentor.)

Read, Review, and Enjoy (RR&E)

_"He really sensed something in me, just as I did in you, and he taught me everything about the White Lotus society."_

_The Lower Ranks_

Chapter 7

"Tomorrow's the big day huh?"

Pakoda nodded. "Yep."

"You'll remember everything I taught you?"

"I'll never forget."

"And you're sure you know the way?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you are more worried about me than me?"

H sighed. "You're the first fellow water-bender I've ever sent through. I want to make sure you make it. The road is not easy Pakoda."

Pakoda laughed and rested a hand on H's shoulder.

"Yes, yes. You've told me several times. I promise, I will make it there safely."

"Well, just in case you run into trouble, I packed an extra week's worth of supplies."

Pakoda just shook his head.

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"Well, I guess this will be our last match for a while."

Pakoda moved his head in agreement, "Yes, I suppose it will be."

"How about we make it one to never forget?"

"That won't be quite that difficult."

"Why is that?"

"I will remember this night all of my days. In fact, let me tell you of my plan. First, I'm going to make it to the city without a scratch on me. Next, I will pass all of the tests using all of the knowledge you have so graciously bestowed upon me," H gave a mock bow acknowledging Pakoda's gratitude, "and lastly, I will come back and visit you someday, and I will make sure that when I do, you will have a memory to match tonight's. Do you know how I intend to do this?"

"No."

"I intend to beat you tonight, and then when I return, I will beat you once more!"

Both men could hardly contain their laughter. In between the chuckles H managed to say, "Yes…well…how about you concentrate on beating me now, because if you don't, I assure you that our next meeting will hold unpleasant memories for you, rather than myself."

"Agreed," Pakoda replied.

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H was absolutely puzzled. "Maybe I shouldn't have taught him all of my tricks," he thought to himself. He looked the board over, checking every piece he had, (which didn't take long) and reviewed every possible move that would not end in disaster (this, likewise, did not consume very much time.) H began to panic, he had been holding onto one little maneuver that he knew he had not told Pakoda about, but he wasn't sure if now was the time to let him see it. It was a move he had created, and he had never used it before in a formal match. So, naturally, he wished to keep it a secret for the time being.

This still left him with the problem at hand. He ran every option through his head, until something hit him that he could not believe he almost forgot.

"I conceit. I cannot allow this game to go on any longer for two reasons. One, you need sleep. No matter how confident you are in yourself, you will not reach the city in time if you do not sleep tonight. As for the second reason, I almost forgot something that you will be needing when you arrive in the city."

Pakoda rolled his eyes, feeling cheated out of the sweet victory that he had wrapped up before him. "What sort of lame excuse did you conjure up this time?"

"Actually, Pakoda, this is quite important. This will tell the brotherhood many things about you, and it is imperative that I keep at least some of our time together formal and within the traditions of the society."

"Fine, what shall I do, O accustomed one?"

H ignored the water-bender's sarcasm.

"Drink this," handing the cup to Pakoda.

"You don't need to hand me my cup, I can get it myself. I'm not blind you know, it's sitting right there."

"I served you your tea because I wanted to, and for no other reason."

"Yes, fine, just give me the tea."

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"Well, this is it."

It was time for Pakoda's journey to begin.

"Just remember what I told you about the cave."

"Don't go in it."

"And the swamp?"

"Don't go in it."

"And the Fire Nation?"

Pakoda rolled his eyes. He wondered if his humor always seemed this dry.

"I bid you farewell, H."

"Iluliaq."

"Excuse me?"

"That is my name, Iluliaq."

"So where does the H come from?"

"Abandon what you know, Pakoda."

Puzzled, Pakoda removed the thought from the present.

"So long Iluliaq."

"So long Pakoda."

The moment he stepped out of the village, rain began to fall. And it was then, at that moment of losing the first real connection with another human he had ever had, that he truly realized what it meant to abandon what he knew.

A/N: Any time I leave an a/n at the end of a chapter you know it has to be pretty important, right? Well, anyway, special brownie points go to whoever can figure out the significance of H's real name. It isn't that in depth, and anyone with eyes and internet access should be able to figure it out within a minute's time, but that doesn't mean I wasn't proud of myself for this little bit of cultural accuracy and dramatic irony.


	8. The Pilgrimage: Chapter 8

A/N: Love love love this chapter. Does that sound braggy? I don't want to sound braggy, but I was really proud of myself after writing this one. I love how this chapter just totally brings in a whole new perspective on the transpirings of the final chapter of The Lower Ranks. Again, if you haven't read The Lower Ranks, and you're reading this. I suggest you go back and read it first. It will make this story much more interesting which I think compensates for the lack of a whole lot of action like what I had in The Lower Ranks. This will be the first (and hopefully last) chapter without a quote from The Lower Ranks to start it off. I really like having subtle reminders of what will transpire in Pakoda/Iceberg's future and how those things are given much more meaning now that we are learning his backstory. Again, I don't want to sound braggy, but I've absolutely fallen in love with my own OC, and I can't help it. It isn't really anything I intended on, he was actually first created only as a tool to help sew up a minor plot from the last story. I never anticipated making him into this, but I love it, I love it shamelessly. And with that, I end pretty much the longest A/N ever.

Assuming you aren't too annoyed at my love for my creation, RR&E!

Chapter 8

"Thanks again for the lift dudes!" Pakoda shouted. It was the only way to be heard with all the splashing going on outside the swamp boats.

"Tain't nothing man! The pleasure is all our's!" Jiu yelled back, "We'll be at the other side in an hour or so, so you kin jus relax if ya want!"

"Sure thing Jiu."

Pakoda sighed, he felt guilty not following H's advice, but this seemed just too convenient to pass up. Even amidst all the splashing and rowdy behavior of the swamp-benders, the ride was surprisingly smooth. It was so smooth, in fact, that Pakoda was able to take a nap for a little while.

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"Wake up man!"

Pakoda immediately rose up to see what was happening.

"How far?"

"About fifteen minutes, so I'd suggest ya stay woke up seein as the slowin-down process ain't quite peaceful."

Pakoda sat up and gazed around at the swamp. He had never seen so much greenery. He would have thought it almost beautiful had it not been a muggy swamp.

Suddenly, Pakoda saw someone kneeling down, crying.

"Stop the boat!" he yelled.

Hesitating to brake, Jiu asked, "What is it?"

"There was a woman crying over there, we need to go see what's wrong."

Jiu and the other swamp-benders looked at each other, they knew what was happening.

Jiu signaled for the lead boatman to stop as the caravan glided to a halt at the bank of the river so that Pakoda could get out.

As soon as he was out, he looked around. The river winded this way and that, so he wasn't entirely sure he knew where the woman was.

Suddenly, he heard the crying, only this time it sounded like a younger voice. He ran in the direction that he thought he had heard it, but then heard the matured sobbing back in the other direction. Having a soft spot for children, he pursued the younger of the two.

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He had been looking for at least fifteen minutes and he was sure he had to be getting closer even though the crying never got any louder or clearer. Finally, he saw a glint of red hiding behind a tree. Being careful not to scare the child away, he slowly crept around in a circle to come towards the girl from the front rather than risk frightening her further from behind.

He finally reached a comfortable angle of approach and began to silently come nearer to the girl.

She was still huddled over and still weeping just as intensely as when he had first heard her from the distance. She had black hair with a strange headband keeping it from falling and lying against her back.

She then randomly shrieked very loudly at the ground "NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIM!"

Pakoda was so taken aback by this, that he decided it was probably best to leave her be, but as he stepped away, he noticed something strange about the girl. When she looked up between sobs, he could see her eyes quite clearly. There was something strange that seemed to be covering them, almost like someone had placed transparent pieces of silver over them.

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Pakoda turned back to the tree one last time to see if the girl's condition had improved any since he had decided to pursue the other mourner in the swamp, but was shocked to see that she was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging it off, he guessed that she had noticed his presence and decided to leave either in fear, or annoyance at an intruder on her private time alone.

He then turned his ear in the other direction of where he guessed he had left the other weeper, but was surprised to find that she didn't sound like she was far away. He broke into a sprint as he plundered through the swamp trying to find the person and attempt to comfort her if he could. He saw a flash of blue about one hundred arm-lengths away and knew that it must be her.

He approached her in the same way that he had approached the girl, straight on rather than from behind.

He was puzzled at how this person had positioned herself though. Her hands were outstretched above her head along with the branches sticking out of a tree as if she were bound to them. Her head was hung in shame.

Pakoda called out to her, in order to grab her attention and find out more about the woman.

"Can I help you?" he called out.

Then, something happened that made Pakoda almost fall flat onto his face in shock. He felt a tear come to his eye as her head raised up, revealing the face of his mother, wet with many tears. But then she began to fade away, causing Pakoda to run faster than he ever had before toward her, trying to catch her before she escaped from this world. But he was too late.

He collapsed on the ground and began sobbing himself. He was always too late.

He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the face of Jiu looking down on him with understanding eyes.

"Let's get you outta here."

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Pakoda just sat and watched as the swamp blurred by faster than he could see. In what felt like very little time at all, they were out and Pakoda could finally see the sun again.

"Thanks for the lift Jiu."

"Tain't nothing stranger."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"About your visions?"

"Yes."

"Allow me to explain…In the swamp, we see visions of ones we love, or ones that we will love."

"So the swamp acts as sort of a guilt trip for its visitors?"

"Almost. It is more like a teacher. It helps us to understand that sometimes there is nothing we can do to help others around us, even though we love them. It is sometimes best to focus on what is best for everyone, or in some cases, even ourselves."

"But how can you justify caring for yourself more than for others."

"Because sometimes the world needs us more than our loved ones."

"But that doesn't seem fair to our loved ones."

"No more fair than it would be to the rest of the world."

Pakoda sighed in defeat.

He didn't think he could bear to abandon much more of what he knew.


	9. The Pilgrimage: Chapter 9

A/N: Again, I keep disappointing myself in that I can't seem to find a place for any good action which is one of the things I loved about The Lower Ranks. But what I am truly enjoying and is definitely a fine substitute as far as the writing goes is taking a very simple idea from the first story, and just totally expanding on it and in this case, turning it into multiple chapters. I got very sneaky in a few parts of this chapter and hopefully you'll enjoy the delicious dramatic irony as much as I do. I'm hoping that I didn't leave one part of the story too vague, because it will end up being fundamental in the next couple of chapters and I think it would be more fun to understand what's going on right now rather thanfiguring it out in part 4 (this is the last chapter of part 3 seeing as how his pilgrimage has ended.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this longest chapter to The Lonely Waves. RR&E

_"One day out of the year, Pai Sho players from all around the world gather at Omashu for an annual Pai Sho tournament. this is the only event in the world today where water tribe members, earth kingdom dwellers, and fire nation citizens can all gather together peacefully without any nationalism present at all. Everybody is a good sport and it is a very social event where people that would otherwise never meet can come together to play a game that we all love and enjoy the company of new friends and old."_

_The Lower Ranks _

Chapter 9

Pakoda was still in awe.

He had seen so many things in the last hour that either didn't make any sense, or were just too stunning to comprehend.

It started when he crossed the final hill on the last leg of his journey to Omashu. The sight of the city alone was enough to cause Pakoda to throw a fit of surprise. Several times he had to just stop and stare at the enormous city in all of its grandeur and power.

"They have buildings here that don't melt," he chuckled to himself.

As if the sight of the city itself were not enough to totally throw the totally oblivious water-bender off his guard, he could have never been prepared for what lay inside the city.

H had instructed him to attend a Pai Sho tournament. Pakoda had arrived three days before the actual tournament was scheduled, so he planned to spend some time just enjoying the city. But what H didn't tell him was that all the nations were invited; including the Fire Nation.

Pakoda just stared as person after person dressed in fire nation clothes welcomed him with a warm handshake and gladly assisted him in finding the residence hall for the tournament entrants. He gaped at the benches and benches of earth kingdom villagers, fire nation soldiers, and even a few water tribe members who had shown up and were intermingling within the nations. The only people missing were the Air Nomads, but he had already heard more than he wanted to hear about that, and with all of the fire nation people milling about, he thought that it might not be the best conversation topic.

Truth be told, Pakoda could not come up with a good conversation topic. He had gone to the large area that had been set up by King Bumi for the visitors to the city where food and drink were provided, along with other random Pai Cho matches that had sprung up here and there.

Pakoda heard something familiar in the distance however and tried to remember where he had heard the voice before.

"NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIM!"

Pakoda gasped, and immediately ran away from where the voice was coming from. He knew nothing about it, but after what Jiu had told him, he knew that he didn't want to stay and find out whom the voice belonged to.

He was running to his quarters as fast as he could, but he could still hear the voice that seemed to be following him.

"WAIT! COME BACK!" it shouted.

Pakoda just kept running, until he tripped. Halfway to the ground Pakoda could only think, "Stupid, stupid, you should have seen that cart there! Now you have no choice to meet the person!"

Giving up, Pakoda sat up and looked to see exactly what he had tripped over. The cart was full of cabbages and a young teenager who Pakoda guessed had been tending them, was bent over sobbing over his ruined crops and shouting rather explicative curses at the spirits for his incredible bad luck.

Pakoda didn't dwell on this young man for very long because not far away he could see someone running toward him. He stopped and stared for a second; trying to see if the person matched his vision from the swamp.

For some reason, however, the closer the person got, the less it looked like the milky-eyed girl from his vision. He decided to suck it up and just face whoever this person was.

He heard the voice calling for him again, "WHAT HAPPENED PAKODA!"

Pakoda was stunned. "How does he know my name? I've never met any one outside the…water tribe."

As he thought it over in his mind, the figure had gotten close enough for Pakoda to make out certain features on the person's face.

He realized it was a man, and he was indeed wearing the short sleeved traveling clothes that he often saw on sale at some of the ports where the ferries would transport people from the Earth Kingdom to the North Pole, and vice versa. Then suddenly, like nothing else had shocked him that day, Pakoda gazed upon the face of a person he never expected to see again.

"What're YOU doing here Pakku?!" he shouted back.

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The two men had finally found an empty table back under the stone tent where they could catch up with one another.

"So what are you doing here Pakku? Don't you have a class?"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss Pai Cho week for anything in the world."

Pakoda was glad to be in familiar company, a luxury he thought he would never have again until seeing his old water-bending idol in the flesh.

"I never knew you played Pai Cho."

"I don't," Pakku replied, "But I came here one day a long time ago with someone and I had such a wonderful time that I come back every year now. I don't know what it is that attracts me here, but this place is like a hall of old memories. I could tell you the name of the tournament champions for the past five years without any trouble at all."

Pakoda decided to change the subject. He knew whom Pakku had come with on that first visit. That was back when he was dating Kama, a long time before Pakoda was even born. He knew that they had an unpleasant break-up, so he decided to spare his company the pain of reliving that.

"So, I'm assuming you heard about myself."

"Yes, yes. I'm very sorry to hear that. I was very worried about you and I had hoped that you were OK. I guess I should thank the spirits that you are fine."

"Yes, well, me and the spirits have had a few run-ins since I left the North Pole, so I'm not sure if thanking them is the best idea at this point."

"How was your journey here?" Pakku asked.

Pakoda paused as he thought about the swamp.

"It was rather uneventful sadly enough," he lied.

"Yes, well, better no action that bad action I say."

"I'll drink to that!" Pakoda replied as he raised his glass in a mock toast.

"Actually, as far as exciting journeys go, the one from the North Pole was very interesting indeed," he continued.

"Is that so?"

Pakoda then explained to Pakku about Cheapy and the river canyon. He left out the parts about H other than saying that "I was taken care of for a while by a very kind villager before I left to come here." He then told Pakku of how he had hopes of faring well in the tournament in three days. Pakku seemed thrilled to see Pakoda in the tournament. He wished him luck several times before their conversation ended.

"Well, I must be heading off to my residence chambers. Since I'm not in the tournament, I had to come with some people from our tribe who were entered so that I could have a place to stay for the week. Why don't you drop by? I'm sure there are several people there who would love to see that you did OK."

Pakoda thought about the crowd during his sentencing trial. He knew that over half the village had been present and he figured that meant that probably half of the people in Pakku's room were at the trial as well.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to check out some of the competition around here, maybe get a few quick matches in before I start gearing up for the preliminary rounds tomorrow."

"Good idea. I've never seen you play before, but there are men here this week that have been playing for more than sixty years. You better keep your toes crossed that you don't face any of them in the preliminaries. They eat up fresh players like you every year."

Pakoda agreed, although he knew that he wasn't really here to win the tournament, though it might be nice. He was sent here by H to find somebody, and after his experiences at the waterfall and with H, he knew that finding this person was far more important that any silly tournament.

"I'll see ya later then Pakoda."

"Same to you Pakku. I'll be looking for ya in the stands."

"I'll be there."

When Pakku finally had gone from Pakoda's sight, he let out a breath as if he had been holding it ever since they had sat down together. He muttered under his breath. "Man I hate that guy."

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Pakoda fell on his bed in the residence hall and rolled over trying to get some sleep before his search began tomorrow.

He had dismantled most of the opponents from the evening quite easily, surprising himself at how effortlessly he was dismissing them from his table as he began another battle with another opponent.

The cycle became quite tiring and he eventually called a draw in the middle of a long match with a young gentleman, slightly older than Pakoda, who seemed to have a very similar style of play as he as well. The man was a fire-nation soldier, but Pakoda could tell he was very highly ranked as most people moved out of the way when he came, and he didn't don the traditional armor of the typical infantry.

Sadly enough, soldiers weren't the only ones moving away from him. Earth kingdom citizens scowled under their breath and moved away not out of respect, but spite.

Pakoda learned after his match that the man was a Fire Nation general. He didn't bother asking his name seeing as how he wouldn't know him anyway, but he heard the word "dragon" several times in quieted conversation as their match was being played.

Pakoda assumed that the man was a dragon hunter, and that they were talking about one of his hunts or something. Pakoda himself despised even the thought of dragon hunting, but he knew that the dragons were almost extinct anyway, so he figured that it was just as well that he didn't think anything of the controversial actions of the people in his presence.

After that match, Pakoda immediately retired to his quarters and assumed the position previously described.

He thought about Pakku the most. He still had hard feelings against the man because of how he had been treated by him. Pakku was a great water-bending master, and was thought to be somewhat of a prodigy for most of his childhood. But Pakku had a great ego, which only increased when he was given a job as a teacher for some of the young students.

Eager to learn from such a well-respected bender, Pakoda had hoped that he could learn from Pakku and signed up for one of his classes. However, when Pakoda arrived for the first day, he sat still as all of the other students reached into their pockets and pulled out money and handed it to Pakku. Pakoda hadn't known that there was a charge for the class, so he sat still trying to see if Pakku wouldn't notice.

Unfortunately, despite trying to hide, Pakku noticed that he had less money than what was owed him, and he spotted Pakoda who was looking away hoping that Pakku wouldn't see him.

Pakku called him up and when Pakoda told him that he couldn't pay for the lessons, Pakku became somewhat furious. He called Pakoda filthy names like "dirty peasant" and poor little beggar". He made fun of him for thinking that he could learn from such a great master as himself without anything to pay for the instruction. Pakoda ran away and hid himself from the world for several days before his mother finally convinced him to go back to school.

But then one day, Pakku and Kana broke up leaving Pakku a mess. He decided he needed to apologize for some of the things he had done and he went and found Pakoda and begged for the sixteen-year-old's forgiveness. Pakku still wouldn't let Pakoda learn from him, and the two kept in contact with each other from time to time. Even still, Pakku was still a little bit too proud to be seen with Pakoda and this caused Pakoda to lose most of his respect for the man.

Pakoda did forgive Pakku, but as he grew older, he seemed to kind of blame some of his problems that came with the Fire Nation on Pakku for not giving Pakoda the ability to protect himself from the soldiers when they came upon him in the middle of the lake. However, his recent experiences with H and the waterfall told Pakoda that he had not truly forgiven Pakku yet. He decided that if he got the chance, he would apologize to the man for being fake around him and for secretly spiting him when he wasn't looking.

After coming to this conclusion about his course of action, he rolled over once more and finally was able to get comfortable and drift off to sleep.

He finally was beginning to see the good in abandoning what he knew.


	10. The Tournament: Chapter 10

A/N: No TLR qutoe this time again. I couldn't find a good one that fit this chapter. The same will probably apply to the next two as well.

I want to say something really quickly, and I hope this doesn't scar me for life on this site. I've noticed that this story does get hits. Not very many, but I know that there are some people who are reading this. Now, I don't normally make a show about reviews. I'll say once or twice that I'm always open to and encourage good solid criticism or compliments, and I've told myself over and over again that I would try to not be one of those people that hold off chapters until I get a certain number of reviews. I don't like that when I'm reading other fanfictions, and I don't think it's very much in the spirit of writing. I write for my own enjoyment, but I post it here for others to enjoy it too. I don't necessarily try to please people with my stories, but I post them up just in case someone does like to get a kick out of them. That being said, I start to wonder why the story is not getting very many reviews. Nearly every story I've ever read has numerous reviews, and I get slightly downcast when I don't get anything except a few reviews here and there (which I appreciate and always try to reply to). I'm not going to beg and plead for reviews, but it is nice to know that somebody out there is reading this and either appreciates it, or maybe doesn't like it so much. I'm going to get off my soapbox, but I've just really been wondering lately why my stories have been sort of review-repellent this whole time. I may not have said this before, but I'm also open to suggestions as well, so that's another option assuming you don't like the story, or disagree with a part of it.

Oh well, that's all. Nothing all too special about this chapter other than the constant hints of something coming up that I'm sure most of you figured out immediately during last chapter. RR&E

Chapter 10

Pakoda leaned in and took another good long look at the board.

He had been playing for about five hours and he was more than ready for this game to end so that he could have some lunch. He had ripped right through most of his players that morning as one right after the other came up to face him, only to have their pride temporarily stepped on.

The person he was playing at this point in time was not very good by any means. As a matter of fact, he was one of the worst opponents Pakoda had ever faced. But strangely enough, this made it difficult for Pakoda because he had become accustomed to planning strategies around his opponent's strategies, which was his style of playing ever since he met H. But since his current opponent had no apparent strategy, he was constantly thwarted at each attempt to set up a solid attack on one of his defensive pieces. The game actually ended up taking longer than all of his previous ones, which Pakoda didn't mind seeing as his opponent would at least get some experience before leaving the city.

Finally, Pakoda saw his light and attacked suddenly and swiftly so as not to give the other player a chance to randomly switch pieces or something, allowing Pakoda to dismantle his neutral pieces, and giving him full reign of the board.

The other young man knew enough about the game to know that there was no way out of his predicament now. He offered his hand to Pakoda who gladly accepted respectively as always. Pakoda let out a sigh created from weariness, then headed for the lunch hall.

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Pakoda ate alone. He wanted to keep his focus on the tournament today so that he could have a chance to meet the man whom H had told him about. H said that the young man was probably around the same skill level as Pakoda, but with more experience. H had said also that the man would not have to play the preliminaries this year because of his high placement last year, so Pakoda would have to pass the preliminaries before he had a chance of accomplishing what he came to Omashu to do.

"There he is!" he heard a voice call. He knew immediately who it was and quickly set to decide a course of action. He remembered his thoughts about Pakku from the previous night, and he knew what he needed to do, but he didn't want his concentration broken by that right now. He quickly devised an escape plan.

"I'll tell you what, I haven't seen anyone whip through players like you did this morning. At least not since last year, when the new guy showed up."

"Thank you Pakku. Listen, I'm sorry to abandon you like this right now, but I really need to go get ready for the second half of the preliminaries."

"No problem man, I understand. Listen though, I heard that he has been watching you."

Pakoda couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Who was watching me?"

"The new guy. Well, he's not new anymore, not since last year."

"Who are you talking about?"

"You've probably seen him around. He's from the fire nation. No one knows who he actually is other than that he is a powerful general. Last year he came into the preliminaries for the first time unheard of and whipped right through like you did. He almost won the championship. Lost to an old man that caught him in a silly mistake. It was a shame though, he was better than the old man."

"Wait, Fire Nation general? I played him last night."

"No kidding, how'd it go?"

"It was lasting to long and I called for a draw. He was apparently just as tired as I was seeing as he gladly accepted. He seemed pretty nice."

"He was nice because it didn't matter. You wait until you meet him in the playoffs. You'll find out how nice he is."

"Hey, I was playing kind of lazily too. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Whatever. See ya around Pakoda."

"You too Pakku."

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This time he noticed his follower. He was sitting behind a pole, Pakoda noticed.

"If what Pakku said about him was true, I'd want to hide as well," he thought to himself.

He was able to shrug it off however and get on with the rest of his matches. The afternoon rounds were a lot shorter since Pakoda won so many in the first half. The playoffs only consisted of sixteen players, eight of them coming from the preliminaries.

Pakoda soon enough found himself in the position Pakku had described the previous day. He was starting to have to put a little more effort into his moves as the players he faced became more experienced and more aged as he progressed. He had no trouble sealing them all off and remaining undefeated on the day though, and was a shoo-in for the playoffs. He was given his start time for the next day and his opponent's name.

"Gi Fong?" he asked Pakku later, "What kind of name is that?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about him. He's a newcomer. Some sort of child Pai Sho prodigy or something. He's from Ba Sing Se and he only lost once in the preliminaries. I don't think you'll have too much trouble with him."

"Ba Sing Se huh? That's where I'm heading after this."

"Really. Hmmm, never pictured you as a big city type."

Pakoda sighed again. He knew that it was now or never. He was going to need the focus even more for the playoffs and he knew that he wouldn't be able to concentrate with the weight of this silly little silent feud raging inside of him.

"Pakku, we need to talk about something."

"Shoot."

Pakoda then explained a lot about how everything happened with the soldiers back at the North Pole. He told him how he thought that Pakku was to blame for being suckered into doing all that stuff for the Fire Nation.

"I've grown out of that of course. I realize now that it was my mistake, and you had nothing to do with it," he said.

Then he went ahead and told Pakku about his experience in the waterfall.

"My caretaker told me that I barely survived the fall. He said that the waterfall spirit decides who is worthy of entering the village and that apparently, I was giving the spirit conflicting feelings, and hence how hurt I was after the fall. After he told me that, I thought of everything that had happened to me in the past year. I thought about the sabotage, but I knew that I had peace of mind about that. I thought about being banished, but I had already accepted that as my fate. The only thing that was within me that I could think of was you."

Pakku just sat back and listened intently to the story.

"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think I ever truly forgave you, even though I was always telling myself that I did. I was lying to myself in a way by blaming everything on my bad luck, but secretly, I knew that I really blamed you for all of the hurt that you put me through.

"But then, something else strange happened. I went through this swamp on my journey here, and I had a vision of this little girl crying and screaming something about, 'NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIM!' I had no idea what that meant, but then when you said that when you first saw me yesterday, I couldn't help but think about the vision. The swamp guide had told me that the swamp shows us things that we love or will love, and have lost or will lose. I'm not sure what the little girl has to do with it, but I know for sure that I don't want to lose you."

Pakku said nothing. He just looked down at the floor. Then he looked up, without shiny tear-filled eyes and said, "I forgive you."

The two hugged. They knew everything would be OK now. Even though Pakoda still thought of Pakku as an egotistical jerk, and Pakku thought nothing more of Pakoda than sea prunes, the two were able to bury their prejudices, and become great friends despite their differences.

Pakoda didn't play any more games that night. He had had enough of the festival already, and knew that he needed sleep before the playoffs tomorrow.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about Pakku. He still didn't really care for the guy as a person, but he knew that he wouldn't let his feelings crowd his relationship with him. He thought about his opponent, Gi Fong. He wondered how much tougher the playoffs would be than the preliminaries. He knew that Gi Fong had been defeated once, but that could have been any kind of little fluke that he himself could just as easily make. He thought about "the new guy". Part of him hoped that he would get to play him again, but the other part told him that he would probably be better off not risking the embarrassment.

Finally, he thought about the man he was supposed to be looking for. So far no one had matched the description H had given him. He had told him that in case Pakoda couldn't find him, he was to find a messenger hawk, and send him in the direction of "the gate-keeper" with a message requesting a Pai Sho match. H told him to hesitate before taking this route however, since the brotherhood has many enemies, even during Pai Cho Days. All messenger hawks were occasionally searched, and it would be foolish to try to sneak a message past the random monitors, even during the tournament.

Pakoda wondered what the man would be like. He conjured up an image in his head. He would have to like tea just as much as H did. He figured he would be a little stocky, and somewhat short. He imagined that the man would have some sort of aura around him, that somehow everyone would know when he was there, and would show a kind of solemn respect for him as he passed.

Suddenly, a thought came to Pakoda.

"Wait...a...minute."


	11. The Tournament: Chapter 11

A/N: Gosh! Who doesn't show up at Pai Sho Days?! Oh well. I was able to slip in another plot twist in this one as the preceding sentence before suggests.

Nothing much else really. RR&E

Chapter 11

"Here we go again." Pakoda thought.

He had just woken from a good sleep, but the sleep seemed shorter than it really was because he didn't dream. Pakoda preferred it that way however. Seeing as his dreams were usually filled with pain and anguish, he figured that it would be better if he just didn't have them.

The second day of the tournament had drawn a bigger audience, Pakoda had noticed. About half of the stadium was full, and there was a single Pai Sho table in the arena rather than the dozens that were set up during the preliminaries. To one side was a giant board, which kept track of whom was still in the competition; and on the other side was the life-size Pai Cho board.

At breakfast, Pakku had explained this to Pakoda. He said the stadium is normally used for earth-bending matches between masters, so the entire stadium was entirely made from rock. Earth-benders raise a circle and cut the rock to represent the board and all of its spaces. Then, after each move, the benders move rocks around that have also been cut to look like large Pai Sho tiles. This is how people in the audience can see what was going on without having to strain to see the board and guess which pieces were being moved.

The whole set-up was a little intimidating to Pakoda. He knew he had been watched all day yesterday by the strange general, but he could handle just one person watching him, no matter how strange that person was. But Pakku guessed that about a thousand had shown up for the playoffs, and another two thousand would probably be there tomorrow for the finals.

Before entering the arena, Pakoda took a deep breath and released it, which seemed to help calm his nerves before his opponent came out.

Gi Fong was rather young, like Pakku had said. He guessed him to be no more than eight, but Pakoda could still tell that the young boy was making no bones about any of this. For a kid, he had quite a mature expression on his face. It was almost as if he was annoyed to be there. He heard the crowd clap rather enthusiastically as the child took his seat at the table to await Pakoda's entrance.

Pakoda's mind began to race with questions. "This kid has fans? People clap for Pai Sho players? Will people cheer for me? Will people boo me?" But there was no use trying to worry about it, he simply walked out into the arena and hoped for the best.

Pakoda's ear nearly busted with the roar of the crowd when he made his appearance. Even Gi Fong began looking around the audience somewhat in shock of the crowd's approval of his opponent.

Pakoda continued up the steps to the arena. As he sat down, the crowd quieted.

"How are you?" Pakoda asked.

"I'm fine I guess. How much better can you be when you're playing in a Pai Sho tournament?"

"Oh, I don't know, this is kind of fun for me. I've never played Pai Sho outside of casual games with some of my friends before. I'm surprised I made it this far."

"Well, you're not alone in that light."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you not just hear that? The crowd loves an underdog. It's just like what happened last year with the new guy."

"Hmmm…" was all Pakoda could muster.

Suddenly, a fanfare blew and Pakoda gazed up at a podium where a little man in a large robe was standing up. He had a full head of white hair that did not suggest that the man would be balding anytime soon. Pakoda guessed the man to be in his late sixties, early seventies. Pakoda finally recognized him as King Bumi, the host of the tournament.

The king gave a rather enthusiastic, if not odd, speech about how much he loved Pai Sho and wished all of the players luck in the playoffs before taking a seat on his throne to enjoy the day's matches.

Pakoda reached out his hand to Gi Fong who accepted it and shook it. Pakoda realized that the kid wasn't as obnoxious as he thought he was. The look of annoyance was nothing more than just how his face looked, and so he thought nothing more about the kid's personality.

"Boy, I suck at first impressions," he told himself.

After the draw, Pakoda got the first move. He used the opening move that H had taught him. The move that H said he was always to use, no matter what the circumstances because he never knew what might come of it. This held true as Gi Fong looked up at Pakoda with a strange look on his face.

"You're gonna lead off with that dinky tile?" he asked.

Excusing his rudeness because of his age, Pakoda answered, "I don't know, I just kind of like this tile."

Play continued in the normal way. Once Pakoda got past the fanfare and the crowd and the arena and Gi Fong, it was nothing different from what he had been doing the day before. As soon as he realized this, he made what he thought was quick work of the child and set up what he thought to be his final move. But, surprisingly, the kid had a trick up his sleeve that bought him some time to set up a counterattack at Pakoda's neutral pieces, a strategy that reflected Pakoda's own. Fortunately, not only had he learned how to use this strategy from H, but he had also learned how to defend it. After a couple of housekeeping moves and a quick swap between his air and lotus tile, Pakoda knew he had the boy trapped. The boy looked around the board for any opportunity that he could find, but it was in vain.

The boy was not without manners completely however. Rather than fighting it out and wasting precious playing time that belonged to other players, the boy stood up and graciously offered his hand in conceit. Pakoda accepted and shook the boy's hand firmly. The crowd gave wildly enthusiastic cheers when Pakoda was announced to be the winner and would move on the final eight players.

The rest of the morning consisted of watching the next seven games take place, which moved at a very rapid pace surprisingly. Pakoda had taken a seat next to Pakku and would sometimes leave for a snack when he got hungry or somewhat bored by the games.

"It's not interesting," he told Pakku, "The way they play, it's so mechanical. I don't know how these people can honestly stand to watch this willingly. It's like their playing from a script."

Pakku agreed. "Yes, I've noticed that you like to think a lot before you made any major move. I'd bet that if more people played like you, this tournament would last longer, but the better players would be the ones up there, rather than the ones that get lucky off other players' mistakes."

One time, Pakoda came back and was surprised to see that a whole new game had already been started.

"Who won the last one?" he asked.

"Oh, uh…the Earth Kingdom soldier. And then you missed another match while you were gone. It was between "the new guy" and our water tribe representative. Sadly enough, he was quickly done in by the general, and the game was over in only a few moves."

"Ah…I see."

"Who do you play next?"

Pakoda looked down at his card. "Umm, I play that Earth Kingdom soldier, the one that you said won. I'm the first match again."

"You won't have any trouble with him. Gi Fong was a lot better than he was. I had seen that soldier play in the preliminaries. He's nothing but lucky."

Pakku was right. Pakoda felt like he had just gotten settled down before his opponent swapped two pieces unnecessarily. The move didn't hurt his defense, but it gave Pakoda an extra move to form a surprise attack. After only ten moves, Pakoda had himself another handshake.

As the crowd erupted with cheering again, the soldier whispered something to Pakoda. "I'm glad you won. You've got the best chance of beating the general out of all of us. Better than me anyway."

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Pakoda was anxious for his next round to begin. He was to be in the last round of the night. Unlike the preliminaries, the playoffs had lasted until late after supper, with the game before Pakoda's taking a few hours to complete.

"That was a rematch of last year's championship game," Pakku told Pakoda. "With the general not making any mistakes, the old fella' doesn't have anything to do but stall for time. That's why the game is taking so long."

Finally, it was over. The general had defeated the "old fella'" as Pakku liked to call him. It was time for Pakoda's last match.

Pakku had told Pakoda everything to know about his opponent. She was from the southern water tribe, and was quite good compared to Pakoda's last few opponents according to Pakku. She was apparently quite a thing to look at as well from what Pakku was saying.

"Would I recognize her?" Pakoda asked. He had remembered that sometimes Southern Tribe members would visit friends in the Northern Tribe.

"Oh, I think you might," Pakku said with that sneer in his voice that told Pakoda that Pakku knew something that Pakoda didn't.

Pakoda entered the arena to the wild applause that he was now starting to get used to. He sat down and awaited his opponent.

As she strode in, he heard her gasp at something. He looked over at her. She was staring at somebody in the audience. He followed her gaze up to the seats where he had been sitting. Pakku was still sitting there with a guilty look on his now red face.

Pakoda quickly turned back to the girl who was still frozen to the spot. She was in fact beautiful. Her hair was already turning silvery despite her otherwise youthful features. It had been tied into loops as was customary for southern water tribe girls. It took Pakoda a second until finally he looked past the hair and saw the last person he would expect to ever be in the same room as Pakku ever again.

Then the entire crowd gave a gasp to match Kama's as she fell to the ground in a faint.

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Pakoda was still scowling over his bad luck. He had been declared the winner of the match since Kama's condition would not allow her to play. He felt it unfair to have won like that. He was, however, automatically entered into the final round to face "the new guy".

He wondered whether it was really correct to keep calling him "the new guy". If anybody was new to all of this, it was Pakoda.

He found this out when he heard tables talking about the new guy coming towards them, but when he looked around the general was nowhere to be found. It was then that he realized just how popular he had become. He found the emptiest table he could so he could try to enjoy his late supper alone, but it was to no avail as several other players immediately plopped right down at the table along with him.

The questions seemed to come almost as quickly as the people had. "How do you do it? Where are you from? Why do you play this way? Why do you play that way? Why are you wearing that old robe?"

Fed up with the pestering, Pakoda stood up and apologized for leaving, and then made the excuse for needing rest before the next day's match.

He was a little bit downcast that he didn't get to spend the meal with Pakku, but his heart went out to him more than himself seeing as Pakku was sure to be getting an earful by now.

He decided that it would be best to head off to bed for the night and get some rest before his match. The match didn't start until early afternoon, but there were so many official things to be done beforehand that Pakoda wanted to be sure to be rested enough before they all started in the morning.

Unfortunately, there were still too many questions floating around Pakoda's head, even in the absence of the clingy fans.

"Why does Pakku really come to Pai Sho Days? Did he know that Kama would be here? Did Kama know that Pakku would be here? Who exactly is the general? Where is the gatekeeper? Why did Gi Fong compete in tournaments if he disliked them so much?" were all thoughts that crossed his mind.

He had become masterful however at dismissing all thoughts when it was getting too late to be thinking about trivial things that would inevitably answer themselves.

He finally fell asleep with one hand pillowing his head, and the other clutching his white lotus.


	12. The Tournament: Chapter 12

A/N: My longest chapter ever. I'm keeping the A/N short this time to let you get right into the story. It gets pretty intense, at least it did when I was writing it.

RR&E

Chapter 12

Pakoda woke up early the next morning. He wanted to see if he could catch Pakku alone before he got caught up in all of the heat of the competition so that he could talk to him about the previous night.

He was able to catch him in the dining hall, but he was not alone. Kama was with him, and surprisingly they seemed to be enjoying each other's company rather well. He saw Pakku say something that made Kama laugh, which was quite strange, seeing as he had never remember seeing Kama laugh when they were dating. He decided that he needed to talk to Kama anyway since he didn't beat her necessarily fairly.

He sat down and offered his hand to her saying a friendly "Hello."

She reluctantly offered her hand in return and turned to Pakku with a strange look on her face.

Pakku then realized what was going on and decided that he should explain.

"Kama, this is Pakoda. He used to live at the North Pole, but he decided that he needed to leave to explore the world."

"Don't flatter me Pakku."

"OK, he was banished. But he's OK now. It's nothing to get worked up about. What I'm afraid to tell you however, is that this is the man that will be playing the general tonight."

Kama gave Pakku a look of confusion.

"Oh, I guess you didn't hear. You were kind of disqualified since you were unable to play."

She simply said, "Oh."

Pakoda felt it was necessary to apologize.

"I'm very sorry. I really do wish I could have had the pleasure of playing you. I feel horrible about winning without actually playing you."

"I have an idea!" Pakku said suddenly, "How about you guys play right now? You can play the short version since Pakoda will have to leave soon for all of the official pre-match stuff."

"Sounds fine to me," Kama said, "What do you think Pakoda?"

"I guess. I'm just scared that I'll feel bad if you beat me but I still get to go on to the final match anyway."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not all that good. I just got lucky in the prelims and got some easy breaks in the playoffs. I'm not even as good as that kid you played in the first round."

"Well, I don't want you to be playing to lose."

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean that I don't think you will have anything to worry about. And even if I do beat you, I won't hold a grudge or anything. In fact, it would make me feel better because if I beat you, and then you beat the general, then I'll have been the best player this whole week. I can't get any better than that."

Pakoda laughed. He could see why Pakku liked her so much.

"Alright then, let's go grab one of the short boards."

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Two moves into the game, Pakoda could see what the girl meant by getting some lucky breaks. She wasn't very confident in her moves, and even with the short board and lower tile count, she was still deliberating over moves even longer than Pakoda was.

Suddenly, a horn sounded signaling the start of the pre-match ceremonies.

Pakoda looked up at her. Feeling slightly guilty about leaving her there, he apologized and got up.

"I hate to leave you in the middle of a match like this, but I guess all that stuff is really important if I want to win."

"That's OK. I would have had you in three moves anyway so no hard feelings."

Pakoda chuckled.

"What's so funny? Surprised?"

"Nope. I would have had you in two."

She paused, and then burst out laughing.

"See ya later Pakoda!" Pakku shouted.

"See ya!" Kama added in.

"Wish me luck!" Pakoda shouted back as he ran out of sight.

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The pre-match ceremonies were very strange. Both Pakoda and the general were asked a series of questions about their playing history, personal history, and other sorts of miscellaneous things.

Then, the Pai Sho council moved on to special honors of recognition. Awards were given to players who won the most preliminaries and to players that had the longest streaks at their respective preliminary tables. Pakoda had broken records on both accounts and was personally given his awards from the hand of King Bumi himself.

Lastly, the Pai Sho council went through some basic housekeeping measures, confirmed the start time for the final match, and dismissed everyone for lunch, except for Pakoda and the general.

When the crowd had finally made its way out of the arena, the leader of the council gave them their instructions.

"It is customary for the two opponents to eat their final meal before the match together so they can get to know one another. As formal as this whole ordeal is, we realize that it can be very stressful on players to have to undergo all of this pressure before the final match. The king has rented us his private dining room for the both of you to enjoy a personally prepared meal together without interruptions or anyone else. The guard will escort you there now."

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Both men had been eating savagely for a half hour before they were asked about dessert. Pakoda had never eaten food of this quality before, and apparently neither had the general.

The general simply asked for a cup of jasmine tea while Pakoda admitted to being full.

The two had been so busy eating that neither of them had spent much time talking until the wait for the general's tea. The general started.

"Are you nervous?" the general asked.

"Why wouldn't I be? I never even expected to get this far."

"Is that so? You do know that you were the number two seed after the preliminaries right? The only reason you weren't number one above me was because they were trying to set up a rematch between myself and my opponent from last year's final match. They kept us in opposite brackets because they wanted us to have the final match together."

Pakoda was shocked. He knew that he was pretty good by comparison to everyone else, but he had never expected such a compliment, especially from his upcoming opponent.

"May I ask you your name?"

"Pakoda."

"Ah, so you are from the water tribe?"

"Formerly. Please don't take offense, but I was caught in the middle of some stuff with the fire nation, and I was banished from the tribe. I had been living in a remote Earth Kingdom village until I left to come here. It was my caretaker who advised me to come and compete."

"Why did you need a caretaker? You're quite young my friend, you should be taking care of people my father's age."

"I had an accident on my way to the village."

"I see. Well, since you have told me about yourself. I will tell you about myself to be fair. I must apologize for leaving out details, but for security reasons, my identity must be kept a secret."

"That's fine with me."

"You are very kind to understand. I am a Fire Nation general, as you have no doubt gathered. I'm in charge of about forty percent of the Fire Nation's forces. I led a siege at the Earth Kingdom capital for six hundred days, but I failed and this, as you have no doubt figured out by now, is the reason for the lack of respect I get from the crowd."

"That doesn't seem fair. I thought the point of Pai Sho Days was to leave behind all prejudices."

"This is true, but a lot of people seem to forget that. I'm glad there is at least one young man out there that still has a genuine love for the game, and I'm even more grateful that he will be my opponent today."

"I'm very honored that you feel that way."

"I must confess that I too will be honored to be your opponent as well."

"The best of luck to you Pakoda."

"And the best of luck to you…um…"

"You may call me the Jasmine Dragon, or just Dragon for short."

"I like Dragon."

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Pakoda was waiting in his wing for the match to begin. Dragon was the first to be called out seeing as how he was the defending champion and Pakoda was the challenger. When he entered the arena, Pakoda could hear shouts of disgust and indifference toward Dragon, which really saddened Pakoda's heart. Pakoda knew he would get a standing ovation when he entered, which weighed even heavier on his mind. Knowing it would make no difference in the overall scheme of things, Pakoda began to clap his hands. No one else was around to see it, but Pakoda didn't care. It was the least he could do for someone who had such kind words for him.

He didn't even care about the man's past or anything of that sort. He felt that Dragon didn't feel very good about his actions either. It didn't matter to Pakoda one way or the other, but what did matter was that everyone needed someone to help him or her up. Pakoda had so much support. There was Pakku, Kama, H, and all of the rest of the fans in the stands that would soon be chanting his name when he entered the arena. He felt that the least he could do for Dragon was give him the respect and honor he deserved, even if he never knew a thing about it.

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Pakoda's name had been called, and the crowd erupted madly and explosively just as he had predicted based on how they seemed to feel about Dragon. The main pre-match formalities had been done. King Bumi had given another speech wishing the players luck, and the crowd finally quieted down while waiting for the game to start.

He gazed at the surroundings. There was not an empty space to be found in the stadium and the rag-tag earth-benders that were in charge of moving the tiles on the giant Pai Sho board had been replaced with Dai Li members that had been borrowed from Ba Sing Sei.

The draw had already been completed early that morning, and Pakoda had won the first move, to the pleasure of the audience who were now eagerly awaiting his move. He had been deliberating the entire day on which move to play, even though he knew that he would inevitably end up using the same predictable move he had been using for the entire tournament.

The crowd seemed to inhale as Pakoda raised his hand and reached for his white lotus. When he sat it down in its proper spot, he could feel the wind as the entire crowd exhaled at the same time.

Now it was Dragon's turn. He seemed confident enough. It was almost eerie how a smile seemed to be hinted at by his expression. He shrugged it off knowing how foolish it was to judge by facial expressions, especially after his match with Gi Fong.

But Dragon's first move seemed to happen just as quickly as Pakoda's move had ended. It took Pakoda a second to even remember that it was his turn to move his piece. He looked down at the board to try to begin establishing an early defense, when something caught his eye. It was the very last thing he had expected.

His eyes drifted from the board, back to Dragon, to the board, and then back to Dragon again. It was then that he realized that the small smile was not a facial feature, but the real deal. He stared at the board for another second as murmurs began to rise from the crowd. He knew what he had to do, and now he only had to deal with actually forcing himself to do it.

All of this time, Pakoda had been focused on trying to find the gatekeeper. H said that Pakoda would recognize him when he saw him, but only now, when Pakoda finally abandoned the last bit of what he knew, did Pakoda truly understand everything that had transpired in the past three days.

He looked at Dragon's piece one more time before finally deciding what must be done.

Never before had anything about Pai Sho seemed beautiful to Pakoda. But as he looked one last time at the mirror images, white lotus and white lotus, facing each opponent with its simple design and flawless symbolism, he realized that nothing would ever compare to the experience he was in the middle of at the present moment in time.

He hardly had to force himself to move as his hand immediately shot out grabbing for the next tile in the white lotus cycle. He had to restrain himself from slamming it down so as not to appear vulgar in his play. Many more murmurs stirred up from the crowd as he released the piece and awaited Dragon's next move.

The murmurs only increased when Dragon mirrored Pakoda's move once more. But these murmurs didn't compare to the murmurs that were created by Pakoda's next move. However, those murmurs were nothing next to the ones that were started when Dragon once again mirrored Pakoda's move.

After the first few moves, a rhythm of grab and place, grap and place seemed to surface, which accompanied by the increasing chatter of the crowd could have almost made the arena into a concert hall. By the time they reached the crucial point in the cycle, Pakoda looked up at Dragon eagerly waiting for what he knew was coming.

Pakoda placed his penultimate piece and shifted his gaze to the face of general. He would never forget the twinkle in the man's eyes as he finally uttered the words that changed Pakoda's life forever.

"I see you favor the White Lotus," Dragon said as he laid down his piece.

Pakoda scrambled his mind trying to remember what he was supposed to say. The rhythm of the game had already led him to place his final piece, and Dragon his own. Then, he remembered.

"But those who do can always find a friend," Pakoda said with a sigh in his voice as relief came over him as though a sky bison had been removed from his lap.

The last thing Pakoda could remember hearing clearly before the shouting and general discontent of the crowd was the words of the match official who officially declared for the entire arena to hear:

"The match is a draw!"


	13. The Departure: Chapter 13

A/N: I've finally made an executive decision to end the story at fifteen chapters just like The Lower Ranks. I will include an epilogue again that will connect the stories of The Lonely Waves and The Lower Ranks. Fear not, however, because after a short break after this story, I will be continuing the story of The Lower Ranks with another story that I promise will have a lot more adventure and action that this story. I'm very glad at how this story turned out even though I don't have a lot of action. I felt that rather than speed by this part of Pakoda's story and try to add in more action from the later years of his life, the relationship between Pakku and some of the other characters needed to be more explained and visited rather than just worthless action like Chapter 2 of The Lower Ranks. Honestly, I did not even expect Gi Fong to show up in this story at all until later in Pakoda's life, but it was about that time when I decided that I probably wouldn't be getting to that part of Pakoda's life yet, so I decided to add him in now rather than just completely shut him out of the story. I will wrap up all questions that might need answered at the end of the story in the epilogue because of some things that are implied but not for certain. More details will follow in upcoming A/Ns about the next story and some of the other things I just mentioned.

RR&E.

Chapter 13

Pakoda just sat with his head down on the table. He didn't bother trying to explain to Pakku anything about what had happened at the match.

"I mean, what could have possibly possessed you to pull a stunt like that? Do you even realize what would have happened if you had gone on and beat him? Seriously, I just don't understand why anybody would pull something like that. And to think that he would go off and keep it going with you…how did he know anyways? You guys talked at that lunch didn't you? That must be it. He knew that you would beat him, so he devised a plan that wouldn't utterly humiliate him and dragged you along for the ride. He played you Pakoda! You let him walk all over you!"

"It wasn't like that Pakku."

"Oh, really? Then tell me what it was like. Tell me all about how your little mind works and how you somehow thought that a draw would have been good for you. How?"

"I…can't tell you."

"You can't tell me? Or do you not want to tell me?"

"Neither. Even if I wanted to tell you all about what has happened to me in the past three months, I wouldn't be able to. I'm not allowed."

"You're not allowed?"

"I'm not allowed."

"Who says?"

"I can't tell you that either."

"Well, isn't that just fine and dandy. Look at what I've done for you. For YOU! You know me better than to make friends with anybody that happens to be standing on two legs and breathing. And now you can't even muster up the heart to tell me why in the world you would do something stupid like that?"

Pakku took a seat, his head hung. In a quieter voice, he continued, "You know why me and Kanna broke up?"

"I heard that it was because she wasn't ready to be engaged with you yet."

"That's the story she probably told everybody. You want to know what really happened? She left me because I yelled at her for wanting to go dancing with one of her guy friends one night. I told her that I wanted to go dancing with her, but she insisted that we were spending way too much time together. It was then when I pull out the betrothal necklace. I told her that she was the only one that I ever wanted to dance with for the rest of my life."

"What happened?"

"She left. She told me that she would have to think about it, but she went home, packed her things, and left the North Pole. She didn't even say goodbye.

"That's why I've been coming here every year. The first time I came was when I was with her. She had been entered into the tournament, but didn't last through the preliminaries. She had thrown a fit about losing so early and promised herself that she would be back some day when she was a better player. I figured that she would keep to her promise and return someday. So I waited. I've waited for three years now, and finally she's shown up. I didn't even want to get back together with her. I've lost all hope for love. All I wanted was to say good-bye and leave with no hard feelings."

A tear had come to Pakku's eye.

"And that's what I've done. We patched things up last night after her accident, and now we're just fine and dandy. I'm going to return to the North Pole with my class, and she will go back to the South Pole with her husband, and we'll both continue on with our lives with no regrets.

"So now you can see why I'm so upset. I honestly don't care why you threw the match. Kanna couldn't tell me how she felt, so she left. I don't want the same thing to happen when we part ways tomorrow. "

Pakoda didn't know what to say. There were so many things that had happened that day, he was just trying to find room in his brain to absorb the words Pakku was saying. He truly felt sorry for the guy, but he couldn't actually tell him about the White Lotus, or anything about joining it. Finally, Pakoda reached a compromise.

"OK, I'll tell you what happened. I can't disclose details to you, but I can tell you this. I had no idea that the match would end in a draw until Dragon made his first move. Somebody told me that I had to be watching out for someone this week that I would eventually play a game of Pai Sho with. This person told me that if this person moved his pieces like the general did at last night's game, I was to follow a specific pattern that would end in a draw. Late tonight, I am meeting up with the general so that we can talk specifically about certain things that are very secretive. I apologize for lacking on the detail end of the spectrum, but that unfortunately is all I can tell you."

"Thank you Pakoda."

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Once he was sure that everyone left in the residence area was asleep (there were only two or three players left that hadn't already gone home in disappointment over the match earlier that day), Pakoda crept out of the tent and headed for a small teashop in the city square.

He followed the instructions given to him by the general directly after the game was over and walked down the alley beside it. Once he had made it to the back of the shop, he saw the figure of Dragon standing in the middle of the alley.

"Welcome Pakoda," Dragon said.

"Hello Dragon."

"Please, please, come inside the shop."

Pakoda obeyed and followed the young man into the back door of the teashop. Once inside, he could see a door with the glow of light shining out from beneath it.

"Please, come forward."

Pakoda obeyed again.

"Do not say a word until you are spoken to. The men and women in this room are not as bad as they first appear. Everything in the beginning of the meeting is a formality. They are going to give you a small inspection and then inevitably accept you as a member into the group. Do you have your tile with you?"

"My what?"

"Your tile! Your White Lotus! Did you not bring it with you?"

"You mean my playing tile?"

"No! The tile you were given when you left the village."

"I wasn't given a tile."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. No one ever gave me a tile."

"Search your things and make sure."

Pakoda removed his bag from his shoulders and began removing articles of clothing searching for the tile that he knew wasn't there. As he was removing things, his hand brushed a rolled-up parchment.

"What's this?" Pakoda asked himself out loud.

"What's what?" Dragon asked back.

"I don't remember this being in here."

"Wait a minute, let me see that."

Pakoda handed Dragon the rolled up parchment. Dragon unrolled it and bended himself a little bit of reading light. Pakoda just stared at the fire that seemed to be sitting calmly in Dragon's hand. It wasn't trying to go anywhere, and it wasn't dying out. It was stable. It was stationary. It was content.

"No way," Dragon said, breaking the silence.

"What? What's the matter?"

"You need to wait out here for a little bit Pakoda."

Pakoda had no choice but to find a seat and sit down upon it while Dragon went into the room with the light. He could hear the man talking wildly about something with tea and other sorts of things Pakoda couldn't quite make out. He then heard a woman's voice in reply that seemed to be just as excited as Dragon. Several other voices chimed in with their own opinions on the matter. Pakoda couldn't help but be tempted to go up to the door and listen to what was being said, but he knew better than to risk anything at this point.

Suddenly, the door busted open with Dragon coming out. Seemingly out of nowhere, he bowed to Pakoda and with a gesture of his hand motioned for him to enter the room.

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Pakoda was so shocked at what the people were saying he could scarcely believe it. Apparently, he was supposedly to be inducted into the order as some sort of elite member. He would be given all the necessary supplies needed and would be sent away to the coast of the Earth Kingdom to study and do research for the Order for as long as he lived. In return, he would have to return to Pai Sho Days every year and act as some sort of vice-president of something or other that sounded important. On top of all that, he would be accompanied at his village by a water-bending master to train Pakoda to become a master so that he could also focus on studying properties of water, which was apparently something the White Lotus knew very little about.

Pakoda gladly accepted and was given an official induction ceremony and given the rest of the night to return to his quarters for a good night's sleep. He would leave Omashu the following afternoon and would rendezvous with his new master halfway to his new village.

Upon arriving at his hall, he crept back into his bed and fell asleep, sleeping away the rest of the night that changed his life forever.


	14. The Departure: Chapter 14

A/N: I love it when this happens. I start out writing a chapter with a vague idea of where it is going to go, and then my mind just totally finds a way to make it work and tie up a loose end or take a different spin on the story than I thought I was going to take when I first started out. Ironically enough, this happened a lot when I was writing the Toph chapters of The Lower Ranks. (the irony will shine through once you get to the end of the chapter). But anyway, yeah. One of my favorite chapters of the story. (I would also like to credit RENT for the inspiration of the first line of this chapter).

RR&E

Chapter 14

Pakoda woke up to the sound of tea being stirred.

He sat up and there was Dragon next to his bed with a pot of tea sitting on a neighboring bunk.

"Dragon?! Wha…"

"Shhhh…" Dragon said as he tried to calm Pakoda down.

"What are you doing here Dragon? It's dangerous enough for you to even be outside, let alone with me after what happened yesterday."

"Don't worry friend. Take a look around you. Everyone else is gone. Now, how about some tea?"

Pakoda graciously accepted the cup that Dragon offered to him. He took a sip and was not surprised that the tea tasted just like the tea H had given him back at the village.

"Heh. The last time I had tea like this, it was right before I went through a swamp where I saw a vision of my mother and of a little girl I have never met before. I wonder what's going to happen this time."

Dragon laughed rather loudly and then gained composure enough to ask Pakoda more about the swamp.

"Tell me more about these visions you had."

"Well, the first one was of a little girl. She was crying out loudly 'NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIM!' I went over to her, but when she looked up at me, her eyes seemed to be covered by some sort of silvery substance."

"Like she was blind?"

"Yes, I suppose so. But I had never seen a blind person before, let alone this little girl. I was scared and decided to leave her be. After that, I saw my mother with her arms raised above her head, as if she were still in chains even though I knew that she had been freed right after I left the North Pole."

"The visions of the swamp are often difficult to understand. I myself had an experience with the swamp too, when I traveled here last year."

"Who did you see?"

"I don't know. I only had one vision, and it was of a young man with a horrible scar on his face. He seemed to be staring at me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but it was almost as though he had just done something horrible to someone, and he was looking upon that person with pity. He said, 'I betrayed him.' and seemed to feel remorse for something. But then, a young girl appeared beside him and whispered something in his ear. The guilty look on his face transformed to a look of anger and of pain. I couldn't bear to see a person in as much agony as his face showed, so I turned away and ran for my boat."

Pakoda paused, and then said, "My guide told me that the swamp shows us visions of people we've loved or will love and people we've lost or will lose. I can't say for sure what your vision or my vision means, but I have decided not to let it effect my actions. I no longer wish to live a life of fear like I had back at the North Pole, but I want to face the sorrows and pains of life head-on."

"You are very wise in your young age. If only everyone in the world could show the wisdom that you have shown in the short time I have known you, the world would be a much better place."

"You don't like this war, do you?"

Dragon stopped.

"It's complicated."

"I understand," Pakoda replied, and that was the end of that conversation.

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"I will meet you at the next village, with your final instructions before we part ways. I have some business to take care of beforehand, so I must leave now. So long Pakoda."

"So long," Pakoda replied.

As he waved farewell, the man disappeared across the rocky bridge and into the valley.

Pakoda turned and headed back to the dining area. He had some more to talk about with Pakku before he left.

He found Pakku eating alone with his traveling bags at his side. He waved to Pakoda to come and take a seat.

"I just said so long to Kanna. She left a half-hour ago."

"You OK?"

"Yep. The rest of my companions wanted to go watch the final pairs matches before they left, but I've seen enough Pai Sho this week to make me sick."

"I hear ya."

The two sat in prolonged silence as Pakku continued eating.

He paused to ask Pakoda, "How did your little meeting with the general turn out last night?"

Pakoda looked around to make sure the room was vacant, save for the workers who were too busy to be paying attention to the people in the dining area. Then he leaned in close and said, "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course I want to know."

"OK, I'll tell you everything, but you must promise to forget every detail of what I tell you after you leave this city. Never again may you speak of what I am about to tell you."

"Sure thing."

Pakoda then told Pakku exactly what happened at the waterfall. He told him all about H and about why he had to come to play Pai Sho this week. He told him vague details about the White Lotus, just enough to explain why he had to call a draw at the final match, and then explained to him about Dragon. Finally, he told Pakku of his assignment and about how he was leaving today to meet Dragon in another village which was where he would also meet his new water-bending master."

"So, you will get to learn water-bending after all?"

"Yes. I am very excited. I can't wait to meet him."

"As I'm sure you would be."

The two talked for a long time about little things like North Pole politics, women they had seen at the festival, and they even talked about next year's Pai Sho festival.

"Are you coming back next year?" Pakoda asked.

"I never miss it. Plus, Kanna and I still want to keep in touch, even though I doubt it will last very long. I imagine she'll eventually forget about me and become to old and weak to come up here from the South Pole every year, as will I. Will I be seeing you here?"

"Oh, you might see me around. The order sometimes assigns its members to play in the festival in order to hunt out recruits that may have been sent here like me. But most of the time, I'll probably be here on business for the brotherhood, revealing theories and discoveries and all that sort of stuff."

"Sounds great. I'll be looking for ya."

"Same here."

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The two men had each given each other a final goodbye as they heard the pairs matches ending and people starting to mill about in the dining hall. Pakku explained how he probably shouldn't be seen with Pakoda, and Pakoda understood, bidding Pakku farewell. He then picked up his bag, left the dining hall, and started on his journey toward the village.

Pakoda sighed as he finally stepped out of the city limits of Omashu. He had had way more of the city in the past week than he could have imagined. Thoughts then turned to the road ahead of him. Dragon had told him that it would be a half-day's walk to the village, and told him of a fine roadside stop that he could rest at before completing the journey to the village.

When Pakoda arrived at the stop, he sat down and watched all of the other people that were weary from travel.

He saw a young family with a little boy that looked to be about five years of age. The family had arrived in a large carriage and the family seemed to be in a hurry to get back on the road again. The father had walked over to the information table to see if he could get directions back to his hometown, and the mother had sat down to watch their young son explore his surroundings.

The boy was wondering all over the place and passed by Pakoda several times before deciding that the strange man wouldn't bite and sat down next to him innocently.

"Hi," the boy said.

"Hello there, what's your name?"

"My name's Lao. What's yours? Do you have a cool name? I don't think my name is very cool."

Pakoda chuckled at the young boy. "I don't have a very cool name either I'm afraid. My name is Pakoda."

"You're right. My name's a lot better."

Pakoda laughed again.

"What's so funny?" the boy asked.

"Oh nothing."

"Maybe you should have a nickname, to make yourself sound cooler."

"Really, and what do you suggest?"

"Well, where are you from?"

"Well, I was born at the North Pole."

"The North Pole?! You mean with all the icebergs and stuff?!"

"The one and only," Pakoda said with a sarcasm he knew the boy wouldn't understand.

"That's so cool! Hey, I know a nickname for you!"

Pakoda couldn't wait for this one.

"Iceberg!"

Pakoda paused for a moment. He ran it over several times in his head.

"Hmmm…'Iceberg' you say?"

"Yeah! You would be so cool!"

"I'll tell you what, I like it too. You may call me Iceberg if you like."

"Yeah! I'm gonna tell everyone your new name!"

The little boy jumped up on the bench and shouted, "HEY EVERYBODY! THIS GUY'S NAME IS ICEBERG!"

The boy's mother had seen enough. She came over and apologized for her son's behavior and began to escort him away.

"I'm so sorry for my son. I hope he didn't bother you."

"Oh, not at all. In fact, he gave me a cool nickname."

"Yeah! I did!" the little boy continued shouting, "Mr. Iceberg, can you give me a nickname?"

Pakoda thought long and hard about it. Then, it came to him.

"OK, how about Toph?"

"EWW! That's a girl's name!"

"OK then, I have another idea. How about you give the nickname to someone else. Do you love any girls yet?"

"EWW! Girls are gross."

"Haha, ok, ok. How about this? The next person I meet, I will introduce myself to them as Iceberg, if you promise me that you give my nickname to someone that you love. Deal?"

"Deal Mr. Iceberg!"

The boy's father approached. "Ok, it's time to go!"

"Bye Mr. Iceberg!"

"Bye Lao!"

Pakoda watched as the boy got into the carriage and rode away, with his head looking out the window at Pakoda and his arm still waving goodbye.

Pakoda sighed.

"Hmmm...Iceberg" he thought out loud, "I think I like it."


	15. The Departure: Chapter 15

A/N: There is a small spoiler for those of you who have not seen "The Firebending Masters" yet. I personally don't think it is anything to necessarily avoid, but I wanted to let you all know just in case you were trying to remain completely spoiler free.

Well, it's done. The main part of the story is finished. All I have left to do is the epilogue, which will be completed tomorrow for your reading pleasure. It's been a fun ride, and I hope that those of you who do read this, however few you may be, have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to my, so far, only reviewer. Your review meant a lot to me and I am probably not showing enough appreciation by just randomly sticking you into an A/N at the end of the story where there isn't much reviewing left to do. Other than that, I hope the final chapter of The Lonely Waves makes a good penultimate impression on whomever happens to read it.

RR&E

Chapter 15

Pakoda stumbled into through the village gates and looked for the building with large round door he had been told would be there.

He spotted it and went inside to see Dragon who was sitting across from a young woman. She was saying something quietly to him while holding his hands and rubbing along his palms very serenely. When she was finished, he let out a classic laugh and stood and bowed to her. She returned the favor with a slight hint of red running to her cheeks.

When they both sat back down and began eating, Pakoda felt it was all clear for him to let them know that he had arrived.

"Hey Dragon!"

"Hey Pakoda!"

"Dragon? That's a very odd nickname for you to choose," the woman said.

"Who is she?"

"This is Wu. Her family owns this restaurant, and they let her sit out here and give people their fortunes. When her parents become too old to run the restaurant, she is going to go into fortune telling full-time. Aren't you?"

The woman blushed again.

"Yes, well, enough about me. Let's find out about you," Wu said, directing her statement at Pakoda.

"OK," Pakoda conceded.

Dragon offered him his seat and stood behind him as Wu told Pakoda his fortune.

"Give me your hands."

Pakoda obeyed.

"Ah, you are a wise one I see. Wise and powerful. But, this power must not be taken for granted. Use it wisely throughout your life, for one day, you will be faced with a difficult decision involving someone you love. I cannot tell you what decision you will make, or which choice you will choose, for it will be up to you on the day that you must make it."

"Anything else you want to tell me? Something about wealth maybe?"

"You will lead an average life as far as prosperity goes. You will get be able to get by with a few nice things wherever you plan on settling as long as you are stable in your living conditions. Moving around too much will cause you great distress."

"Thank you for the reading Wu."

"It is a pleasure to offer my services."

"Come Pakoda, we have much to discuss."

Pakoda then got up, bowed to Wu, and departed to a different table with Dragon. For some reason Dragon had bowed along with him, and he could have sworn he caught him wink right before his back was turned to her. When they sat down, Pakoda confronted him about this.

"Who is she really?"

"What do you mean?" Dragon asked hurriedly, "I wasn't lying. She is a fortune teller."

"No, I mean, how do you know her?"

"Ah, well, I will tell you. But you must promise never to tell anyone about it, especially your new master. He'll never let me live it down."

"Promise."

"She used to be my girlfriend. When we broke up, we decided that we still want to keep in touch with one another, but I had to cut off the relationship when I got married. I guess we let the lack of contact with each other get away from us. I believe she still has feelings for me."

"And what about you?"

"I love my wife dearly. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I will always love her to the end of my days. However, I must admit that a part of me still wonders what would have happened had I neglected my responsibilities in the Fire Nation and pursued a secret life here with her. I guess I let my feelings get away from me as well."

"I see. I think it is good that you are indulging them. If you love your wife as truly as you say you do, then it is more dangerous for you to sulk around wondering what would have happened rather than coming to see for yourself. The fact that you convinced yourself to show up here is more than any bravery than I think I could ever show."

"Thank you for your kind words of encouragement Pakoda. But don't sell yourself short. I see great potential in you. I can tell that you have much of a role yet to play in this game before your time is up. I promise that you will do many more brave things than a silly little journey to visit an old girlfriend."

Suddenly, they heard the door open. Pakoda and Dragon both turned and looked to see whom was entering the room. The shadow of the man was vaguely familiar to Pakoda and he knew that he had seen the man before, and then realization struck.

"H! It's great to see you!" Pakoda shouted as he ran up to the door to lock one of his best friends in a tight embrace.

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"So what are you doing here man?"

"I'm not really entirely sure. I was shocked when I got this in a messenger hawk from the White Lotus. It said that I was being reassigned to another village for the remainder of my service to the Order. It told me to meet my new partner at this location before finishing the journey to my new village."

Pakoda turned to Dragon with a blank stare.

"Just wait for it," Dragon said.

H gave both men a look of confusion and eyed both of them fervently. He looked from Pakoda to Dragon, from Dragon to Pakoda, back and forth and back and forth until finally, he seemed to get it. Excitement overcame his composure.

"Are you serious?! I get to train this guy?!"

"Wow, that was pretty good time. I had him at about thirty seconds," Dragon said.

"Yeah, it took me forty seconds after you sat down to figure it out," Pakoda agreed.

"Very funny, Pakoda," H said, rolling his eyes at the classic water tribe sarcasm.

Dragon shushed them.

"Listen, this is really awkward calling you H, and you Pakoda, and then having you two both call me Dragon."

"Well, do you want to tell us your name?" Pakoda asked.

"No, it's too risky in this place. How about we give you a nickname?"

Pakoda did not have to think any longer than two seconds.

"Iceberg," he said immediately.

"Wow, you've been waiting for this haven't you?" H asked him.

"That's what a young friend of mine calls me," Pakoda cleverly said.

"So shall it be, Iceberg," Dragon confirmed.

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"OK, you two know the way from here right?"

"Of course Dragon. I've been there a thousand times, I'll make sure we get there," H reassured.

"Very well. Have a safe journey you two. I'll see both of you next year."

"Same to you!" Iceberg said back.

"Goodbye," H called out.

"Goodbye," Iceberg chimed in.

"So long!" Dragon shouted back.

Finally, they had separated.

As soon as they were sure that the man couldn't hear them anymore, H stirred up a conversation immediately.

"Are you excited?"

"Do I look excited?"

"Yes."

"Well there you go."

"So what do you think of Dragon? I told ya he was cool," H asked, lightening the mood even more.

"He's amazing. Why do people call him Dragon?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I did not."

"OK, I'll tell you, but you must know, that he really doesn't like for people to know these things."

"Very well."

"So, in the Fire Nation, if you defeat a dragon, then you earn the title of dragon."

"Yes, but I'm sure many people in the White Lotus have fought Dragons before. Why is he so special?"

"Ah, but see, this is where you are wrong. He didn't fight any dragons, contrary to what rumors of him tell."

"Tell me more."

"Well, he was on assignment for us back a few years ago over in the Fire Nation. He told his friends that he was going dragon-hunting, but he really had gone to the Sun-Warriors temple."

"I thought those people were extinct."

"So does everyone who doesn't know this side of the story. But you see, they weren't extinct. Dragon was able to convince them that he only wished to learn about their culture, and when they found out he was a fire-bender, their customs required that he go through a worthiness test. He was to meet the original fire-bending masters and they would judge him to be worthy or not of learning about the Sun Warrior culture. It turns out that the masters were actually dragons, the last surviving dragons of the world. They deemed him worthy of course, and they allowed him to study the people for a time. But when he returned, he had to make up an excuse for being gone for so long, so he claimed that he had slain five dragons, earning him the title of Dragon."

"But everyone in the White Lotus knows that the story is not true. So out of irony and for his own safety, they call him Dragon."

"You are learning very well," H congratulated.

"So, can you tell me his real name?"

"I will tell it to you later, when you are ready to learn."

"Very well," Pakoda agreed.

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The two arrived in their new home before nightfall, and found their new shop immediately. It already had a White Lotus hanging over the door and everything.

"I'm gonna miss my place back by the waterfall."

"I can imagine that you would. But don't worry too much about it. Did you see the size of that lake out there?"

"Yep. You better get used to that lake because the first thing we do tomorrow is start water-bending. I want you to be self-sufficient by the end of the month so that we can focus more on some studies that I had started back at the waterfall but didn't get finished."

"Good," Iceberg replied.

"This is going to be great," H said.

"Why so?"

"You really don't know how lucky you are. You are the first new inductee to ever be given an assignment this big your first time in the field. Most members would kill for this placement."

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty nice."

Iceberg and H decided to have a light dinner and to begin unpacking their things. Once they were done, they both trudged up to their respective beds for a good night's sleep.

Iceberg tossed and turned for a while before he finally drifted off. He thought about everything that was happening to him, and everything that was going to happen to him. He could barely contain his excitement at the prospect of beginning something like this in his life.

He thought about where he had started. A short four months ago, he was a banished peasant from one of the most esteemed locations in the world. He was falling down a waterfall. He had been alone, in mind and in body, and did not know where to turn. He didn't have any answers because he didn't have any questions. He might as well have been nobody.

That is, until H came along. He thought about his personal journey with H, and his physical journey to Omashu. He thought about how funny it was that an insignificant thing like a board game had become the main focus of his life almost instantly. He thought about Dragon, and his kind words full of wisdom. He thought about Pakku and Kanna, and the friendships he hoped could endure between the three of them. He thought about his mother, and knew that he could only hope that she was doing OK for herself now that she had been freed for four months. He knew that it was very likely since he was gone, which gave her less responsibility when it came to scrounging for food and money.

But the last thing he thought about before drifting off to sleep was his vision in the swamp. Not the vision of his mother, but the vision of the little girl. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her even though he didn't know why she had been crying out. Her milky eyes seem to be so unadjusted to the pain of loss. But then he remembered what he had told Dragon:

_"__I no longer wish to live a life of fear like I had back at the North Pole, but I want to face the sorrows and pains of life head-on."_

He was finally able to shove the thought of the little girl from his mind. He was abandoning what he knew of fear, and was embracing a life of direct involvement. He knew that he could no longer afford to dwell on uncertainties like this little girl if he wanted to become the person he knew he could be.

"When the times comes," he told himself, "I will face that vision and know exactly what to do."

And with that, he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep, only to wake up to his new life of freedom, joy, and hope.

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A/N: Wow, how about that Wuroh shipping eh? sigh It feels so good to call him Iceberg again.


	16. Epilogue

A/N at bottom. RR&E.

Epilogue

It came to pass that Iceberg and H lived a very fruitful life in their new village. They both returned to Pai Sho day together every year until H died. Iceberg had done all he could to try and heal him, but there was nothing he could do. H had lived to be 86 years old.

Dragon went on to become a great general and do many more things for the Fire Nation, while still keeping in close contact with the White Lotus. He eventually became a member of the Pai Sho council and still holds his responsibilities to the Order to this day.

Gi Fong lived the rest of his childhood in Ba Sing Sei, learning earth-bending under one of the great masters that also resided in the city's inner ring. Eventually, Gi Fong felt that he needed to join the Dai Li to help his city.

One year, Dragon met Gi Fong at the tournament, and the two developed a lasting friendship. Knowing that it was Iceberg's turn to be gatekeeper this year, he sent Gi Fong ahead to again compete with Iceberg in the preliminaries. (After the fiasco of Iceberg's first year, the Pai Sho council made sure that Iceberg and Dragon would always compete in the preliminaries to ensure that something crazy didn't happen at the finals again.) Iceberg greeted Gi Fong and sat down. The two exchanged turns in their game and before Gi Fong knew it, he too was an elite member of the White Lotus and before his thirtieth birthday, had been inducted into the council along with Iceberg, Dragon, and several other respected Order members.

The three once again parted ways and returned to their respective cities.

Iceberg was studying a new property of water that he had just discovered and was beginning to hone his ability with it when he saw a messenger hawk coming from the distance. The hawk landed and Iceberg removed the message and read it. It said:

_Iceberg,_

_Thought you would like to know, the Avatar has returned. I am doing my best to make sure that he remains unharmed so that he can finally put an end to this war. I must be brief because my ship leaves in a few minutes. I lost my Lotus tile! Of all the rotten luck. I plan on looking for it at the nearest port. I am currently held down with the responsibility of sabotaging all attacks against the Avatar from the Fire Nation, and I will not be able to come to Pai Sho Days this year, and possibly every year until the war is over. I really would appreciate it if you could explain my situation to the council, so that they might understand why I am not there._

_It really is a shame that I will not be seeing you anytime soon. Give Gi Fong a good hearty hello when you see him, and tell him that both of you are in my thoughts on my long and difficult journey._

_Something else I think you might like to know, I will very soon be heading to the North Pole. I can tell that the Avatar will be there, and I am pretty sure that that is where I will be needed the most. Hopefully I can prevent any possible tragedies from happening._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Dragon_

Iceberg set the message in a safe place and sent the hawk on its way with no reply. He felt that Dragon had already compromised himself enough sending a letter in the first place, that it would be foolish to try and send a reply and hope for the same luck.

Several months passed and much happened. He was constantly getting new stories from travelers about how the Avatar was helping the world and how it was only a matter of the time before he would face his ultimate test with the Fire Lord.

At that year's Pai Sho Days, Iceberg and Gi Fong had a long time to talk since neither of them were scheduled for tournament duties that year. Iceberg explained in length the message from Dragon and Gi Fong told Iceberg of what had recently happened in Ba Sing Sei. Princess Azula and Prince Zuko finally caught Dragon and had him arrested. The Avatar was dead and the Fire Nation was now making its final advances on the entire Earth Kingdom now that Ba Sing Sei had fallen.

Gi Fong also told Iceberg of a stronghold that Azula had given to Long Feng to operate the entire lower half of the Fire Nation forces from. Iceberg knew that Long Feng had once been a common member of the Order. Iceberg had even been his gatekeeper that year, but he had detached himself from it all when he grew bored with going to the tournament year after year.

On his way back to his village, Iceberg made a pit stop at the stronghold to see for himself what the world had come to. After the first few minutes of awe-struck wonder at the magnificent stronghold, Iceberg decided he had seen enough and continued on his way to his village.

Iceberg arrived back and decided to intensify his studies of water-bending. He knew that very soon the day would come that the Order would call all of its members in unity to fight in the final struggle against the Fire Nation.

He was resting from a long day of practice when a young woman walked into his store. She was wearing Fire Nation clothing, but had the complexion and hair of someone he had known long ago. As he was trying to figure out who she was, she stumbled on a loose battle club that had fallen from its display and now lay blacked out on the floor.

He took her to his table and began healing in an attempt to wake her.

After about five minutes, she stirred and looked up. The two began talking and very soon, he learned that she was the granddaughter of Kanna. She was traveling with the Avatar, who was not dead after all. She told him that Aang had been captured from the air as they were traveling to one of their final destinations before an invasion. Knowing that Long Feng was behind it all, he realized that this was where he was needed and decided that the group was going to need more than three people to get in and out of the castle with the Avatar.

On their journey, Gi Fong stumbled upon their campsite and the two reunited and agreed that Gi Fong should join them on their mission.

Strangely enough, Iceberg also met Toph. He developed an interest in the girl, knowing that he had picked out her name a long time ago. The two bonded, and Iceberg disclosed everything he knew about the White Lotus to Toph, who had eagerly listened with much enthusiasm.

At the stronghold, Iceberg and Gi Fong eventually found Long Feng questioning Aang. The three men battled and eventually Long Feng had disposed of the two men. Gi Fong was lying unconscious, and it was thought that Iceberg had fallen to his death. The other members of the group had found the room as well. They defeated Long Feng and began to exit the room, leaving Long Feng lying on the ground as well. All of this time, Iceberg had been hiding, and waiting and watching in case the group would need his protecting, and when Long Feng got up to attack once more from behind, Iceberg jumped out and saved everyone from the wrath of the twisted Lower Ranks leader. The two tumbled to their eventual death at the bottom of the large room.

As they were falling, Iceberg heard the crying words of Toph, "NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIM!" and realized how everything in his life finally fit together. His vision in the swamp, and his fortune from Wu had finally come true, and he didn't know it until it was too late. He was glad, and although no one could see it, he fell to his end, proud of himself for facing all of his problems in life head on, and not abandoning everything he knew, but abandoning everything he thought he knew.

After Iceberg's death, Gi Fong decided to take up residence in Iceberg's shop. He knew that it was what Iceberg would have wanted, and he felt honored to work in the same position as the man who always had been wise beyond his years.

One night, the door opened and a weary, but muscular traveler stumbled into the shop. The man expressed an interest in a game of Pai Sho, and Gi Fong heartily agreed. As the game progressed, Gi Fong realized that the man was trying to show that he was also a member of the White Lotus. As Gi Fong looked up, he finally saw past the muscles and long wispy hair into the face of his old friend, Dragon.

The two embraced as Dragon exclaimed, "It's good to see you Gi Fong!"

Gi Fong said in return, "Likewise Master Iroh,"

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A/N: Well, I think it tied in rather nicely don't you? I felt it necessary to finally include Iroh's name in at the very end. I had kept it hidden at first and had hoped to keep dropping bread crumbs until finally everybody who knew anything about Avatar could understand who Dragon was. As for a few questions that I'm sure everyone will ask, Lao, the little boy that Iceberg met in Chapter 14 is Lao Bei Fong, Toph's dad. Wu is the young Aunt Wu from The Fortuneteller. I kind of like the Wuroh ship, so I thought I'd toss that in there as a little shout-out. Iroh's vision in the swamp was a sort of combination of a couple of scenes from The Crossroads of Destiny, right after Zuko questions how he betrayed Iroh, and Azula reassures him that he did the right [wrong thing.

As for the future of this story, I have an announcement to make. After much thought, I have decided to make The Lower Ranks into a trilogy, with the final installment following the adventures of Gi Fong and Iroh as they meet up at the next Pai Sho days with some new characters to the story. Not sure where I plan on taking the last two thirds of the story yet, and even if I did, I'm pretty sure I would keep it a surprise. After that story, I plan on trying my hand a some oneshots and drabbles, and maybe even writing a few shipping stories. I don't know, it really depends on how I think I do on them. But eventually, I might possibly return to this story and add in a few oneshots here and there about Iceberg or Gi Fong or someone else.

I must say, before I wrote The Lower Ranks, I saw so many White Lotus stories that I thought I would never write a White Lotus story, but well, there's my life for you. All remaining questions can either be asked directly to me, or will be answered in the third and final installment which will probably appear in March sometime.

I encourage reading other fanfictions too. There is some good stuff on here, especially as far as shipping goes. Have fun, keep safe, and I promise I won't keep the last story far from coming.


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